#let’s just pretend like a whole 3 lessons of some of the best character development doesn’t exist :))

[yourlocalgrass]

I love how the writing devs just went like:

“We got character development, family therapy, communication between characters, relationship expanding between the MC and characters…

that’s all ready to go into the trash and now to ‘erase’ so never technically happened!”

the scene where you confess to lucifer about knowing belphie and then he becomes enraged and nearly kills you only for the brothers to appear and learn the truth about belphie and then beel defies lucifer and attacks him and then out of nowhere belphie shows up OHHHH ITS SO GOODDDDDDDDDDDD i wish this game wasn't stupid

[bluelancelion]

So, I've been re-watching Stranger Things S1 - S4 and I got things to say just to let them out of my system.

First of all, kudos to the Duffer Brothers for one of the best found family ever created. I love the gang, I love the later addition of Max, Robin and Eddie. The characters are clean.

But here's the thing, let's talk about characters and, more specifically, Steve and Nancy.

So, we pretty much got a weird vibe between Nance and Steve in S4, kinda heavy hinting that Steve is totally not over Nance and they might get back together.

Now here's why this is a bad move.

First of all, I heard somewhere that Stranger Things is supposed to end like a circle, so many things that we've seen in S1 might return by the end of S5 (aka last season).

IF that's true, quoting some fans theories, then:

- Robin is gonna become Nancy's bestie (taking Barb's place)

- Steve and Nancy are gonna get back together (?)

Look.

I know what you're cooking here.

Steve and Nancy started their relationship when they both weren't fully evolved as characters, right? We're gonna pull a "right person, wrong moment" move in S1 that's gonna come back in s5 because after their MASSIVE character development, Steve and Nancy are basically two complete new people.

THAT could've worked IF Johnathan didn't exist.

Cause let's be real here, if Johnathan didn't exist, this trope would've been perfectly fit. BUT-

You guys gave us the whole "Nancy likes Steve but she's not in love with him" and then you pull out Johnny boy and pretend like we don't pick up the fact that Nancy loves him?

Plus, if Murray says so, then it's law.

I don't make the rules here! He's basically jesus, everything he says is right and if that man says Nancy and Johnathan love each other, then they love each other. If he says Hopper and Joyce love each other, then that's true, no questions asked.

"But people change, and Murray could always say that as things are now, Nancy and Steve are perfect for each other."

Yeah, maybe, but then what was the point of giving us such good chemistry between Johnathan and Nancy? They've hit it off since season 1, carrying it all on season 2, had a difficulty overcome TOGETHER in season 3, making their relationship even stronger if you ask me-

Only for it to... to what? In season 4? (I haven't rewatched season 4 yet so I don't remember the details except they wanna go to different colleges, but I'm dead sure they don't break up yet)

But noooo, the Duffer Brothers want to give us a lesson. Every person in our life is important to us and they shape the person we are today. Nancy needed a Johnathan in her life, in that specific moment of her life, not a Steve. But as we get closer to the future, or the present in s5, we might find out that the character that is Nancy Wheeler in that season, in that period of her life, doesn't need a Johnathan anymore, but a Steve.

And I don't say "need" as if boys can be swapped like socks, I mean that maybe Nancy is building her future somewhere where Johnathan doesn't want to be, or maybe Johnathan is growing into a man who's goals are far away from Nancy's.

And this is heartbreaking, cause you know these causes might lead to a break up and it had NOTHING to do with their feelings for each other. Nancy and Johnathan love each other, no matter if they break up or not because what they want in life is different.

Which brings us back to Steve getting back with Nancy.

Look, I'm all in for people finding happiness, but it feels a bit odd to give us such a good couple, make them break up (and thus breaking our hearts, but no matter what, we'll still love them both because life led them to break up, not their feelings)... Only for Nancy to be RANDOMLY back with Steve? Like???

I don't know, it gives me a bittersweet taste.

Now. Let's not forget this is Stranger Things, and stuff might go fucking south like:

- Johnathan dies and Nancy is left grieving. We have a timeskip into the future where Nance and Steve are together again, fighting the grief in the company of each other. Maybe in the past, Steve and Johnathan fought side by side in the Upside Down and it was Steve who failed to save Johnatan. In the meanwhile Steve and Nancy got closer as well, so it's easier to digest their reunion if it's under this perspective.

But seriously? Are we gonna pull that, Duffers?

OR Steve dies (please no) and Nancy's right there to hear his last wish and maybe she kisses him? Like a goodbye forever kiss, they might've worked out if it weren't for Jonathan and how things went in the end, yadda yadda

Honestly, I can think of a bunch of theories about how this could go, but no matter HOW it goes, I still think that making Steve not over Nancy is a tiny bit of an insult to his character development.

After Robin, his character was peak. He was supposed to get with her (which let's admit it, we all low-key rooted for it) but when Robin's actress proposed her idea of making Robin a lesbian, literally everything went from perfect to THE EPITOME OF PERFECTION. King (hair) Steve Harrington, popular once douchebag, now single mom besties with a lesbian? Peak writing. PEAK. WRITING.

You know what could've been even more peak? Making Steve come out as bi and have a little thing with Eddie but y'all were cowards

BACK TO MY POINT. Steve wishes for and deserves a soulmate, never ending love and a family. And, in a way, he has that already through the kids, through Robin, his friends-

I just... I don't think, and I neither see Nancy being that person for Steve. And it sucks cause they could've made a character specifically for Steve to fall in love with (I know, that was supposed to be Robin but since she's not anymore, either give Steve someone new cough Eddie would've been a good match cough OR give us a new female character so he can have his dream love story and we'd all be happy) instead of recycling old characters who had an awesome journey just to end where it all began.

And I get it, this is supposed to be Stranger Things ending, right? To finish where it all started.

And again, the Steve and Nancy of S5 might be exactly who they need in their lives at that moment.

But after EVERYTHING we've seen so far in these 4 season? Nah man. Just... It doesn't work.

I'd be happy to hear your thoughts :)

[sfb123]

Sapere Aude - Part 9

Book: The Royal Heir

Pairing: King Liam Rys x Queen Riley Brooks

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Catch Up Here

Series Description: I developed a theory of what I think will happen in TRH Book 4, and I was encouraged by some very lovely people to turn my theory into a fic, so here it is. Basically, Riley is recruited to join the Via Imperii, this series will follow her as she joins them to try and bring them down from the inside, and all of the drama and bombshells she learns along the way. Sapere Aude is Latin for “dare to know” it seemed like an appropriate title.

Rating: PG-13 Adult language, allusions to smut (but nothing graphic), discussions of death, conspiracy, blackmail, and other adult themes.

Warning: The Royal Heir Book 3 Spoilers all over the place.

Word Count: 2,655

A/N: Before I dive in, a little bit of unpleasant business to address. As you may know, there is another writer that is also working on a Via Imperii themed fic. We had been working together to make sure our stories didn’t overlap to the point of plagiarism, sharing ideas and pre-reading each others work. That partnership was abruptly, and unbeknownst to me, put to a halt this week (3/28/21). She has not read this chapter, and I have not read any of hers past her chapter 9 (which I don’t think I ever saw the final version of, so let’s safely say chapter 8). I just wanted to put that out there in the universe, I don’t want any previous approvals or conversations to be implied or carried over into work I have not, and will not, see. No ill will, it is what it is, I just want to make sure that nobody is misrepresenting anyone’s involvement in anything. 

HUGE shout out to my hype squad, @jessiembruno & @txemrn. It’s no secret that I haven’t been feeling to great about myself lately, and they’ve been so great about talking me through it and encouraging me to keep going. 

As always, shout out to @twinkleallnight for my amazing, and updated, moodboard!

Tags: I think my tags actually got figured out, so tags are below, but not in the comments as I usually do. If you don’t get the tag, let me know (which is a weird thing to say, because you might not even be seeing this).

Riley stood at the stove, scrambling eggs, when she suddenly felt Liam’s arms wrap around her as he kissed her neck. “Good morning, love. You’re up early.” He said in between kisses. 

“Hey you.” She shut off the burner and turned in his arms, reaching up to cup his cheek. “How are you feeling?” She looked at him with worry in her eyes. 

“I’m...past the worst of it, thanks to you.” He kissed her softly on the lips. “I’m just ready to move forward and come up with a plan to end all of this. Then I can deal with everything else.”

“You don’t have to bottle it all up until this is over, Liam. You can talk to me.”

“I know, you’ve more than proven that to me.” He winked, a slight smirk on his face. “Taking them down is how I need to work through it. It seems as though a majority of the struggles we have faced have been at the hands of the Via Imperii. Getting my revenge and eliminating them will be a cathartic, healing experience. It needs to happen for the country, and for my own piece of mind.”  

She nodded and pulled out of his embrace, taking his hand and walking him toward the island. “Good, that’s what we’ll do then. Sit and I’ll get a plate together for you. I need to fill you in on the rest before everyone gets here.”

“Everyone?” He asked as he watched her walk back to the stove and put two plates together. 

“I texted Maxwell this morning, he’s going to come back with Drake so that he can work with us on a plan. He’s already had time to process his dad’s shittyness, so you and Drake won’t have to do all the heavy lifting while dealing with your news.” She placed a plate down in front of him and sat down.

Liam looked at her confused, “Why would Drake still be processing my news? You told him the other day, didn’t you?”

Riley took a deep breath, there was so much she didn’t get a chance to tell Liam the night before. She would have to get through it all now. He had to be completely filled in before Drake and Maxwell arrived. “Not your news, Liam. I had some for him too.”

Riley filled Liam in on the rest of the information she had learned that weekend. Treading lightly when he spoke about Eleanor, making sure not to refer to as his mother, she would simply say ‘she’ and Liam understood. Liam sat there, pushing his own pain aside so he could focus on the task at hand, while also being there for Drake. He knew Drake, and he knew that he was likely feeling a similar storm of emotions, but being the selfless kind hearted soul Liam knew he was, he wasn’t dealing with any of that. Instead, Drake was keeping himself busy by taking care of his friends, just like he had his whole life.

After breakfast, Liam rescheduled his and Riley’s meetings and commitments for the day so that they could focus on the task at hand. Eleanor had her lessons, Drake planned on dropping her off in the Great Room when they arrived at the palace, giving them a couple of hours to talk. Liam and Riley finished getting ready for the day, and headed into the living room just in time to hear the knock on the door. Liam answered. 

Maxwell was the first to enter, bounding in and raising his arms over his head “The party is here.” He walked up to Riley and gave her their secret handshake before pulling her into a hug. 

Drake entered and Liam shut the door behind him. They turned to face each other, and nodded in silent understanding. Liam extended his hand and Drake took it in a handshake that was quickly, and mutually, pulled into a hug. They stayed like that for several moments speaking to each other in hushed tones that only the two of them could hear. 

After a few moments, Maxwell spoke up. “Hey, how come you guys never hug me like that?”

“Maxwell!” Riley yelled in a hushed tone as she elbowed him in the side, making a rapid throat cutting gesture when he looked at her, signaling that he should leave it alone. 

They finally pulled away, clearing their throats as they separated. Drake walked up to Riley, giving her a hug, as Liam approached Maxwell and shook his hand.

“Let’s sit, there’s a lot to go over.” Liam signaled toward the couch as he approached Riley, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Riley gave Liam a reassuring look. “Should we get Bastien in here as well? He should be a part of this.” She suggested. 

“Absolutely. You sit, love. I’ll go get him.” Liam walked her to the couch and kissed the top of her head as she sat, before going back to the front door to retrieve Bastien. 

Once everyone was there, Riley looked to Liam for the next move. She wasn’t sure which of them would take the lead on this conversation, not knowing if Liam would be able to get through the parts of the story that he had learned the night before. He took her hand in his and nodded at her as a signal to begin the conversation. 

“Ok, so we have a new threat. Well, an old threat, but in a new and soul crushing package.” She paused for a moment and looked around the room. Liam and Drake were fully filled in, Bastien was partially aware of the situation, and Maxwell was completely in the dark. The best thing to do would be to start at the beginning. 

With that, Riley explained everything, her conversation with Eirik at Applewood, the meeting in Portavira, and of course everything that had happened during her Valtoria trip. She made sure to grip Liam’s hand a little tighter when she got to the part about Eleanor, when Drake also reached over and placed a comforting hand on his friend’s back. The news of Eleanor and Jackson’s involvement, on top of Eleanor not being quite as dead as everyone thought, obviously, a total shock to those in the room hearing it for the first time. Maxwell’s jaw dropped, his hand quickly moving to cover it as tears welled up in his eyes. For the first time in his life, Maxwell was speechless.

Riley looked over to Bastien, who was standing by Drake’s chair. She was surprised by the emotion etched in his typically stoic face. Then she realized, she had been so worried about everyone else, that she didn’t consider how difficult this news may be for Bastien. Jackson Walker had taken a young, fresh-faced Bastien under his wing when he first joined the King’s guard, and invited him into his family. Bastien had been alone most of his life, so becoming an unofficial Walker gave him a sense of belonging and home that he hadn’t felt since he was a little boy. He had known Jackson was a member of the Via Imperii, he was trying to recruit Bastien prior to his death, but the way Jackson talked about it didn’t line up with what he had learned in the last couple of weeks. Suddenly it all made sense, the information he was getting was based off of the original plan that Jackson had been working on. If he was killed for going against them, it would explain why they stopped pursuing Bastien after his death. He always found something a little suspicious about Jackson’s death, this just confirmed it, and made him want to exact his revenge for the man that had given him everything. 

The room was silent as everyone continued to process the information. Maxwell was the first to speak up. “You guys, I don’t even know what to say. I mean my dad was bad news, but this is a whole other level.” He looked at Liam, “I mean, a coma is one thing, but to pretend to actually be dead? And then to find out you have a brother?!” 

“Thank you Maxwell. It has been a...trying few hours to say the least.” Liam squeezed Riley’s hand a little tighter to keep himself calm. “But that is why you are here. We need to work together to remove them once and for all.” 

“So, what do we do?” Drake chimed in. 

“That’s what we need to figure out. How do you take down a group that nobody even knows exists?” Riley looked around the room, hoping one of the men might have a suggestion. 

Bastien cleared his throat to get the room’s attention. “Perhaps we start by getting some form of hard evidence against them. Something tangible, and undeniable.”

“Yea, we could release it publicly. If everyone knows they exist, and what they’re up to, they won’t have any power.” Maxwell agreed.

Riley nodded. “Ok, that could work. How do we do that? I mean, I’m a member or whatever, but I don’t think you can just borrow membership records, or like walk in taking pictures.” 

‘We could send you in with a hidden camera or recorder of some kind.” Liam suggested. “I don’t want to get Amalas involved, we can’t be certain where her loyalties lie, but Olivia could be of help to us on that front.”

Drake interjected, skepticism in his tone. “Yea, but can we trust her? Her family isn’t really known for their loyalty to the crown.”

Liam stood from his seat. “Historically, you are correct Drake. The Nevrakis family has never been particularly with their standing within the monarchy, but I think that Olivia has more than proven herself. Not only in her loyalty to the crown, but in her loyalty to me personally.”

“Yea Drake, she’s had our backs through everything.” Riley also stood, linking her arm with Liam’s in a show of support. “Besides, in the few conversations I’ve had with these people, they don’t speak too highly of the Nevrakis line, they don’t seem like they would have much interest in bringing her onboard.” 

“Alright, let’s get her involved.” Drake ran a hand through his hair, still not fully convinced, but knowing he was outnumbered. 

“Great. Liam, you and Drake should work with Olivia to get it set up. I’ll talk to Mara and see when I will be meeting with them next, so that we know our timeline.” Riley turned to Bastien, “Bastien, since Hana is in Shanghai, I guess you’ll be taking her place in this mission.”

“Of course, your majesty. Should we make our way to the boutique so I can assist you in finding something to wear?”

Everyone stared blankly at Bastien, the corners of Riley’s mouth slowly turned upward. “Bastien, did you just make a joke?”

“Yes your majesty, I know you all tend to try to add a little levity to situations such as these.”

“Correction…” Maxwell stood up and positioned himself in front of Bastien, “I add levity. I’m the funny one, not Hana. Know your role.”

“My apologies, Lord Beaumont.” Bastien bowed out of respect, but mostly to hide the grin that started to spread across his face.

As the group continued to chat, there was a knock at the door. Soon after, Eleanor came barrelling into the room. “Mommy, daddy, I’m home!” She ran straight for her parents who knelt down to greet her. 

“Hello princess, we missed you so much.” Liam wrapped Eleanor in a hug. 

As he held his daughter, Riley noticed Thomas entering the room. She stood, giving Drake, Maxwell, and Batien a concerned look. This would be the first time Liam would be face to face with him, knowing who he was. 

Bastien rushed over to him, trying to usher him out of the room before Liam noticed. Just as he reached Thomas, the King stood up and looked directly at Thomas, his eyes going wide at the sight of his brother. He quickly shook his head and put his most stoic expression in place. Everyone exchanged worried glances. Riley turned to Liam and linked her hand with his, giving it a gentle squeeze to reassure him that he wasn’t alone. 

“Your majesties, Eleanor did wonderfully today. I was very impressed with how much she learned today.” Thomas bowed as he addressed the King and Queen. 

Liam gripped Riley’s hand tightly, as if he were falling from a building and she was the ledge preventing him from plummeting to his death. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t manage to get any words out. It didn’t matter, even if he could find his voice, he had no idea what he would say. 

“Thank you Thomas, that will be all for today.” Riley jumped in to break the silence. 

Thomas bowed and exited the room. Bastien gave the group a sad smile before bowing and following him out of the room. 

“Hey Eleanor, weren’t you telling me about a new dress you were excited about? Want to do a fashion show for Uncle Max?” Maxwell held his hand out to Eleanor, knowing that he needed to give Liam a moment. 

“Fashion show! Fashion show!” Eleanor grabbed Maxwell by the hand and pulled him down the hall. He looked back and nodded at his friends. Riley mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to him as he rounded the corner. 

“Liam?” Riley turned to face Liam, placing a hand on his cheek. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him, burying his face in her hair. “I know Liam. It’s ok, we’ll get through this.” She peered over his shoulder, giving Drake a sad look. 

Drake approached the pair and patted Liam on the shoulder. “For what it’s worth, you handled it better than I would have.”

Liam pulled himself from Riley’s arms, and scrubbed his hand over his face, letting out a deep sigh. “Thank you both. That was...difficult.” 

“Should we talk to Bastien about having him reassigned?” Riley looked up at her husband.

Liam shook his head. “No, the timing will make it too obvious, they will know you told me. I won’t put you in danger like that.” His face had a slight look of panic. 

Riley was reminded of the conversation they had much earlier that morning, and Liam expressing his fear of losing her. She knew she had to do something to bring him back from that place. She gently placed one hand on his cheek and drew his face down to hers. As their foreheads met, she whispered “I’m right here. Always.” Before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

“All we can do right now is get to work so that we can put all this behind us. We’ll deal with Thomas, and everyone else, after that.” The sound of Drake’s voice brought Riley and Liam out of the moment. 

Liam cleared his throat before turning to address his friend. “Right. Olivia will be here in a couple of days for the council meeting. We will speak with her then.”

Drake nodded. “I’ll go grab Maxwell and we’ll get out of your hair.” He approached Liam and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll reach out if you need me?”

“I should be asking you that question.” Liam arched an eyebrow in response. “One of us is significantly more forthcoming with our emotions than the other.” 

“Touché.” Drake laughed as he clapped Liam on the shoulder. 

Maxwell and Drake said their goodbyes, and headed out leaving the royal family to themselves. They had a big fight ahead of them, but in this moment, Riley and Liam just wanted to be a family. Not a King and Queen with the heir, not warriors preparing for battle, a husband and wife spending time with their daughter. 

Continue Reading

Tags:

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Sapere Aude: @burnsoslow @busywoman @ofpixelsandscribbles

Liam x Riley: @jared2612

[feitanswife]

how to write a horror/mystery/gothic novel that takes place in Washington State:

General:

Kent is a shithole, no one goes to Seattle unless they absolutely have to, the beaches are not for swimming really it’s almost always too cold, and Yakima calls itself the Palm Springs of Washington and whoever decided that should be shot. It’s not the Palm Springs of anything. Palm Springs of depression and murder maybe.

our weather is moody and unpredictable, use that. The other day it went from brilliantly sunny to hailing in a few minutes. It just does that. Monday can be 75 degrees, Tuesday it could snow. Especially in spring.

Western half:

It doesn’t matter where your characters live, if it’s not the absolute heart of a big city your characters WILL have convenient access to woods. Maybe not a lot, but there will be, within fifteen minutes of brisk walking or eight minutes of driving, there will be trees and bushes enough to explore. There are narrow walking trails in green belts between suburban housing developments, undeveloped awkwardly shaped plots of land between grocery stores parking lots, and woods at the edge of parks that may or may not be part of the park.

1 in every 8 houses in the average shitty suburb is full of cultists. The cults have splinter fringe cults. It’s cults all the way down. If your neighbors go to ANY church that isn’t like, one of the big well known branches of Christianity, it’s generally assumed you should cut contact with them cause they’re not worth trying to save. My town had people who pretended to be Mormons to get away with even worse shit. If your characters are in high school, they WILL be accosted by people holding signs and spouting slurs outside the school gates at least once a year. It’s just a thing that happens.

Conversely: everyone knows a couple witches. It’s just a thing. If you go to a community college there’s like a 1 in 10 chance any student you talk to practices witchcraft, and the chance goes up exponentially if they look gay. In my friend group there’s only one non witch, somehow. Stick with the witches, they’re usually pretty cool.

Other gothic genres would have you believe that forests and fields and wild places are scary, don’t be fooled into believing that’s always the case here. It’s not. In fact, the forest is often a place of refuge from, yanno, the weirdos outside of it.

You may think I’m exaggerating but I had neighbors who boarded up their own house and tried to poison the rest of our street when they moved in and spent all Halloween trying to Indoctrinate children. And there was a group of like ten people who faked being from a nearby church as an excuse to harass high schoolers and nobody knew they were fakes until I accidentally told the story to someone who ACTUALLY WENT TO THE CHURCH and was like “uh no we don’t do that wtf???” And that’s how we found of that there were people to fucked up for even the Mormons, and got kicked out and started their own operation! So what did we all do? We started walking home through the woods behind the highschool!

Basically tl:dr if you’re writing on the western half of the state, frame it like there’s scary paranormal goings on in the woods only to plot twist that the villains are humans and the forest’s paranormal activities are helpful, not harmful. Nothing in the woods is scarier than what’s outside of it. Except like, bears and stuff. But usually bears aren’t actively trying to fuck your day up.

Eastern half:

FUN GEOGRAPHY LESSON: rain shadows! We got MOUNTAINS! And when you go over the mountains there’s a huge closet wasteland cause the water gets trapped in the west side! But, between the mountains and the wasteland there’s this beautiful strip of pine forest and meadows called Central Washington it’s beautiful, it’s heaven on earth, once you go there you’ll never want to leave.... except the people there are horrible. It’s like you took a chunk of the Deep South, shook all the actual good stuff out of it, and plopped it in the PNW. Everyone is so up their own asses with politics. trump signs everywhere. So many of them are those godawful rich people who think they’re not rich cause their four story log mansion happens to be in a rural area. I can’t believe I’ve never been hatecrimed over there for how damn gay I look. THE EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE is Ellensburg. Ellensburg my beloved. It’s the best town on earth. Most pedestrian friendly location I’ve ever lived, everyone is super nice, and it’s a college town so there’s always something fun going on!

Tri cities has a bunch of nuclear plant related stuff, do with that what you will.

Back to the fact that half this state is uninhabited due to being completely dry and barren: holy shit the east is scary. It’s just nothing. Rolling hills of nothing. A three hour drive of nothing, then you get to nothing (Idaho edition).

Wine country is its own beast and I would have to make a whole post waxing poetic about how much a vineyard has to give as a gothic setting but here’s the cliff notes:

very isolated, far outside a small town where all the locals know each other, lots of big machines, old dusty barns with cluttered lofts, for straight lines of grapes you can EASILY get lost in the fields, sometimes they scare crows with LOUD AIR CANNONS, hot as hell all the time, people are on the verge between “your cool uncle with money” and “this person has never existed on the same plane of reality as you”, every house has trained hunting dogs for some reason, there’s weird mysterious birds, possibly venomous snakes, and SWARMS of bees and wasps. Oh and everybody and their brother does vineyard weddings. I’m sick to death of vineyard weddings.

Don’t let the maps deceive you. There may be a bunch of town names out there, but that doesn’t mean anything’s there. One time to go camping we drove out into the middle of the state on I-90, took an exit and turned left and kept driving for another hour on completely abandoned roads with no sign of life (but dozens of abandoned rotting houses in the distance) just to get to a “town” that reeked of “we’re getting murdered here cause half of us aren’t white and one of the 3 white people has neon pink hair”. If people wanted to go anywhere they’d have to drive an hour just to get to the interstate. They had one school building for k-12. One gas station, one tiny store, one restaurant. I could lap the entire town in thirty minutes walking. And the first building we saw was a church. Just one. As if the townsfolk weren’t given much of a choice. And there are probably 50 identical towns scattered across the east of the state. Completely isolated.

Tl:dr: want a fresh spin on the “small town full of weirdos” story? Don’t set it in the rural south! Set it in Washington, where you get all the same archetypal weirdness except they think because they’re not in the south they have some kind of moral superiority, and also your lead has nowhere to run cause the landscape is so barren you can damn near see the curve of the earth, where are you gonna hide when the tallest plant goes up to your ankles?

[mimiri22-6]

I JUST FOUND OUT BEE AND PUPPYCAT HAD A SECOND SEASON! GUESS WHAT I JUST FINISHED WATCHING!

Oh my fucking god holy shit, my guys! This show. This fucking show. Where do I even start! First off

SPOILERS!!!!!!

YOU DO NOT WANT TO WALK INTO THIS SEASON, THIS SHOW, WITH SPOILERS! DO NOT FUCKING LOOK, THIS IS 1000% SPOILER TERRITORY!!!

So I will be taking the extra step of taking my laptop out, and continuing this on there(and after I wake up because it's 4am and I regret absolutely NONE of this whatsoever because, guys, I love this show with everything I have left to my being, I swear, I will die for a third season)

Warning: This is a long one.

OKOKOKOK! I know I know! It’s been uh...A Month since I first posted this! BUT I am Here Now and Ready!!! I am less than 10 seconds into the first episode of season 2 and I am already So Ready to relive this!!(Dream SMP has Nothing on this show, God I Love This Show Far Too Much!!!!!!)

...First ten minutes...I have So Much I want to say...Just-just a lot of love...

okokokokokokokokokok!!!!!! I think I know how I’m going to do this now! One bullet for each episode! Let’s see if I stick with it.

Gentle Touch

In the first episode we already get a big game changer for Bee and her development. Bee becoming more responsible as a favor for Deckard. He asks her to take care of his family while he’s at cooking school and we already see her doing this. Going out to the ocean with Weasley, going out of her comfort zone for people she’s practically family to, which is why we got the beginning flashback, once again going out of her comfort zone to stop Puppycat from punching kittens, And Finally, coming out from her nap cupboard to face Howl and help pay for bills by eating ugly food.

Little Fingers

Ooh, this one has foreshadowing dream sequence. I would say more about it if it had more significance, but it’s really just what happens to Bee in the last ep. This episode brings more of Bee being responsible, trying to take her phone away from Puppycat so he stops making bad purchases. This episode made me realize what Puppycat’s role is this season, the child. Or something among those lines. He’s the same as he was last season, but it seems/is a bit more exaggerated because Bee isn’t doing the same things anymore. She’s started to care about consequences. And speaking about consequences, Toast announces she’s pregnant while confirming that she’s been staying...in Cass’s room(?)...weird, but ok, and by Tim pointing and Merlin’s reaction, it’s Merlin’s...but also everyone else seemed like they thought they were the culprit and I don’t want to think about the implications of that....MOVING ON-OH WAIT, And Cardamon’s mom is spouting magic tears that messes with the plants, so there’s that.

Snow and Violets

I’m going to be honest, I’m not 100% sure what to put here and I’m loosing steam. (I’ve been awake since 3 am...) But I think I can put something. The situation with Mr. Cup is the definition of being haunted by your past. The guilt and regret of cheating in the past has made him lose his motivation to give it his all in racing because, what’s the point? Motivation and not caring was his norm, so he just stuck with it. Until Bee, and now he can be a rainbow and sleep with less guilt and regret on his conscience. The thing with the island rapidly changing could be one of three things. Something to do with the ship that  Is the island, a metaphor for change, or something really cool the creators just wanted.

Day off Work

Not Too much to note for this ep overall. Puppycat totally did do the ‘wrecking the house in search for the owner’ thing dogs do. Finally, a dog trait! Every time I see Cardamon now I just get sad cause he’s 7, and should Not be doing landlord stuff. Bee showing worry about how Cardamon’s mom is still asleep and being worried about Cardamon himself, I’m just glad someone’s noticing. I keep forgetting that some people haven’t watched the pilot so they don’t know about Puppycat being a Space Outlaw, so when he found all his stuff under the apartment I was less surprised and more excited. The two last things I want to say is I think it’s interesting/cool/intriguing how the Wizard family just takes every weird thing either in stride, unquestioningly, or ignorance. Just trying to pretend it didn’t happen so they don’t have to deal with it(other than Crispin, but he’s coming up). And the last thing I just want to bring to light is CARDAMON BEING SO CUTE IN THE LAST SCENE! JUST BEING A CHILD! AND LAUGHING WITH HIS DOG! ON A FUNNY CHAIR! I LOVE HIM YOUR HONOR AND I WILL PROTECT THAT SMILE WITH MY WHOLE BEING!!!

My Favorite

Note, Pretty Patrick is also The Mayor. Alright. It’s definitely been a few months and you can see the relationship between Howl and Bee has gotten better, not that it was too bad to begin with, just a bit less peeved on Howl’s end. The theme of Bee being responsible is brought into play again with the train station scene. Telling Puppycat to not hit and the way Puppycat was acting around Patrick. All little kid stuff. Which also kind of clashes with what I thought was Puppycat being older than Bee by a lot, I’m honestly slowly getting more and more confused exactly how I should perceive Puppycat. THE FIRST REAL LOOK AT THE HAND GUYS! I’m still not sure what their deals are, but they have a corpse on their hands and that is already the biggest red flag. I have a guess as to what/who they are in relation to Puppycat and, by acquaintance, Bee, but I could be wrong, but I also can’t think of any other people they may be. I’ll bring it back up either the next time we see them or at the end.

Did You Remember

Grampa Puppycat cares about his granddaughter a whole lot. Don’t @ me, their dynamic is more confusing than a moving maze...Now this episode, ooh boy, it feels like a lot, but in a minimal way? First off, Cardamon finally breaks down about the stress of being a 7 year old landlord and Bee takes care of him for the day. Big Sis Bee For The Win! DON’T @ ME I MAKE UP MY OWN FAMILY DYNAMICS!!! Kind of continuing from the first sentence, Puppycat and Bee love each other(I Stand By Platonically For Them) so much already, for them it’s been a little over a year considering Puppycat fell into Bee’s life before her last birthday and now they’re celebrating another one. And I must admit, I can not for the life of me figure out wtf the deal is with the tears. They have little shapes of recent events in them and they make plants weird/straight up just make life! Like, What Even Is That?! Also, Cardamon finally gets a good sleep.

Bird Friend

Ok, so we got more ship pieces, a most likely reason as to why Puppycat was Like That in the last few episodes of season 1 and has been goopy every now and again in this season. Apparently eating things he shouldn’t eat make him Extremely off model and goopy. More hands! But not the rest of them this time around. I wonder if Sticky’s hunt for all the birds has any significance other than showing us another piece. Puppycat breaking down and spilling a few secrets after stress eating off the floor and Bee immediately saying no to someone else telling her what’s wrong with Puppycat and letting him come to her first instead of forcing him is always such a good lesson to have. Also, Cass is into weirdly shaped shiny things.

Two Clown Noses

Ah, it’s this one. The one that Really throws a wrench into the Bee/Deckard ship. THEY’RE BOTH SO CUTE! I CAN’T CHOOSE!!! This entire episode is just Crispin and Bee hanging out with the added angst of the beginning ‘story’. This world is full of such amazingly crazy characters and Crispin’s backstory is one of those crazier ones. Bee and him Lived Together and Know Each Other, he knows she’s a robot! My only question is, what happened that they broke up? WAIT- DID THEY EVEN BREAK UP?! It would be weird if they weren’t because they were living together and then they decide to live separate again would make no sense. I think I just jumped to the weirdest conclusion...Anyway! How would Puppycat get sick? I feel like that was just another thing they added to create different dynamics. The beginning birthday thing and the conclusion felt so real even though the cause was something so out there that I feel like only animated shows like this could pass, but also I feel like someone out there has done something similar, so what do I know. Yeah, not much else about this episode, it was mostly just Bee/Crispin stuff and character stuff. Gosh they’re so cute...but so is Bee/Deckard. Being a multishipper is hard...

Funny Lying

RIGHT! THEY’RE CALLED THE WARLOCKS! THAT’S THE TITLE I WAS FORGETTING! Tim knows everyone’s secrets, comes with the perk of having a lot of time and not talking much, you observe everyone else while they think you’re doing something else. I know from experience. Eavesdropping is a specialty of mine. SHIT THIS IS THE ONE WHERE CASS GETS THE MESSAGE DISSING HER FOR FALLING FOR TOAST FROM A COWORKER! I caught those vibes during the first season, but then the first half of this season came along and I was forced to drop those vibes in favor of cannon because TOAST WAS PREGOS WITH ONE OF CASS’S BROTHER’S KIDS! I’m good at catching gay vibes in fictional worlds, but I’m shit in the real world, just like everything else. And the thing is, we don’t get Any kind of explanation/closure for the entire rest of the season! We see Toast totally shocked reaction, probably moments before she was going to sneak attack Cass, but froze upon seeing that text. AND WE GET NOTHING ABOUT THAT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON! Anyway, that was only like 2 minutes into the ep, this is taking forever. We got more Bee being responsible for Cardamon and getting rid of the tears, but the biggest part of this episode is undoubtedly Puppycat’s scenes. We got him sinking to the bottom of the ocean and getting cradled by flowers created by the tears next to the ship. We find out he was bullied and ridiculed in school as a kid and his best friend(idk what else they would be counted as), Violet, convinced him to leave their planet after they accidently summon their ship, leaving Puppycat’s mother behind. seeing how he cried about leaving her she seems to have been a great caretaker and he loved her immensely. We get the scene of Bee’s dad as a baby/Very young child on a mission, giving a presentation, and finding the candy to be a source of energy by cracking it open. Making me think, ‘Is that Bee’s fuel source? If it is, how would not taking full doses for two years effect her?’ because in the first season she splits the candy in half to share with Puppycat and in this season she didn’t eat the candy at all. Makes me even more worried for the future knowing what state she’s in when this season ends. With the last flower fever dream/memory it seems that the princess that he fell in love with was the one to make the final move to turning him into a ‘monster.’ Don’t worry tho, Bee saved him from the bottom of the ocean 

Golden Eyes

(I’m getting more and more tired as this goes one. I started doing this at around 12 this morning and now it’s nearing 6 pm. I’m loosing it!) We got another birthday and it’s Howl’s this time, though it’s not really his episode. The fish are attracted to the wish crystals for some reason and one eats a bit of it to be ‘human’ for a day. I love how the fish hated being a human and Weasley didn’t even notice it was a date. I don’t know if it was or not, but ending on that was funny. We got the return of the major douche from the season 1 finally and a mention of Moully. 

Why Don’t You Help Me?

(I took a break between episodes, aka I went tf to sleep, because I was falling asleep at the table and not really processing everything enough for what I’m trying to do) Ok, so this is a day in the life of Cardamon episode with supposed parelles to the Warlocks. We start with the red one stuck and the others unwilling to help...and then they start drawing Puppycat’s face on the 5th one’s corpse and these guys just do not care that it’s a dead body that they supposedly killed themselves. In short, they have all my fear because they are uncaring about body counts. Cardamon still goes to school on top of being a self proclaimed landlord and gets made fun of for being responsible and tattling at every chance he gets. Something I just noticed too is, at first I just assumed he was finally getting tired after being an adult in a child’s body for who knows how long, but now I’m thinking if he’s supposed to be asleep with Violet, his mom, then the reason for him being so tired is being awake too long. It could most likely be both, too. Just like Cardamon, I have no idea what all the tears mean. In the most recent one was see Moully as the charm in the center. What’s the pattern with these? Again we see Bee being responsible and taking care of Cardamon, making sure he gets home safe, tucking him in, and pulling an all night favor so he can sleep and get to school in the morning. Speaking of that, I can’t say I like Cardamon’s teachers all that much. I could rant about them, but this is already long and they’re not worth it. My only real question is, why the hell are their clothes so ragged and dirty? Do they not know how to bathe? Just, WTF? (either that or they’re Really not trying to hide their *ahem* activities from the kids, which just makes me want to punch sense into them or something)

Now I’m Really Alone

MOULLY!!!! Sorry, I just love him a lot. From what I can put together, he’s some kind of gift giving being. Giving wishes, exchanging good deeds and quick favors for other good deeds and favors. Just being Really nice and wanting to help everyone he comes across. This episode makes me see so much in common between Bee and Moully. They both want to help even when they don’t know how. Making messes and finding ways clean up those messes out of guilt and the feeling of obligation. They both have lost things they need to pick up and the knowledge that they have all the time in the world because they’ve both been alive for so long. It keeps getting hinted, but now kind of confirmed, that the Wizard’s know Bee is Weird because they haven’t seen her age. Hell, seeing how she interacts with Cardamon she could have even baby sat them. So all the Wizard’s know she’s Weird and, supposedly, only Crispin knew she was a robot. That was until Deckard found out in the season 1 finally. Once again bringing up the point of people in the Wizard family finding something out and ignoring it and hiding it. In the season 1 finally, Tim asked Cass if Deckard wasn’t depressed anymore, practically saying that Deckard has some form of depression. Depression being a mental illness that runs in families, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that some other members of the family have similar problems. One of the things I remember depression doing is the person will see a problem and ignore it. Something that many people in this show do with the weirdness around them and the emotional states/situations of the other people in the show. This season is about finally seeing the thing you’ve been ignoring and doing something about it. And that’s what Bee’s been doing this season, taking charge and finally getting her junk out of the ocean and getting REALLY far out of her comfort zone. She HATES water and the ocean, but she’s diving in to take back what’s hers and cleaning up a mess. There’s A Lot to analyze with this episode, the similarities of Moully’s and Bee’s situations and personalities, Puppycat being the responsible one again for the long run of things, the tears and how the wish crystals work, and the state of multiple character’s minds. Ignorance is bliss until it isn’t.

I Won’t Leave You Alone

Ok, SO MANY NOTES! Which makes sense seeing how it’s the last episode. First off, THOSE WARLOCK BASTDARDS VIOLATED MOULLY AND IF THEY WERE REAL I WOULD THROTLE THEM TILL THEIR HEADS POPPED OFF!!! I am a very protective person when it comes to things I care about. And I’m going to say it here and now incase something comes up of it, Cooking Prince gives be Colorful Vibes, if you know what I mean. You don’t follow someone home and bother them when they don’t want to be bothered unless you’re Into into them. That’s all I’m saying and if nothing comes of it, I will drop it. I’m barely hanging onto it to begin with. So, last episode we watched one of three hands punching the other hands to let Moully go, and in this episode it’s confirmed that the day Moully was pulled through the void, the 5th warlock died. My theory with that is, the 5th one was against getting Puppycat in some way and retaliated by fighting them off of Moully and then the others retaliated by killing them in some way. And the tears in this episode didn’t give life to the corpse, but grew new life over top of it, the tears can’t bring the dead back. The ship gets put back together and we see Puppycat being pretty selfish again, bringing the ship online while Bee gets scooped trying to help Moully. He indirectly helped, but only after he got what he wanted. Cooking Prince, an outsider, brings up how everything going on on the island is Weird and Cass celebrates someone acknowledging it. Once again, bringing back the ‘ignorance is bliss until it’s not’ thing going on around here. Cardamon does more childish things this episode, making a wish and crying in his mother’s arms. He got to finally let go of his responsibilities and let it out until he passed out, and now he gets to sleep again. Moully and Bee are out of commission and the Wizard’s+Cooking Prince stay one the island/ship to be with Bee even though they are mostly confused about EVERYTHING going on rn. Bee has multiple Bees now while she’s out, and so, they go looking for Bee’s dad. I have a feeling he has at least some white hairs by now.

I remember watching this season for the first time. I remember I definitely cried at multiple points, but I can’t exactly remember what points now. I didn’t cry this time, I was too busy taking everything in and trying to put what little pieces I could find together. The first season was to get us used to this world and get comfortable for a chill ride, but then it smacks you in the face with something much bigger at the very end. This season was to make you pay more attention and to question your surroundings. It was also about the first steps to taking charge of your life. If Bee didn’t do all the responsible things she did this season, the warlocks would have probably gotten Puppycat while the island went to shambles. Actions have consequences and that’s what this was about. I believe next season is why ‘Lazy in Space’ was the title. The characters are going to be in space, looking for Bee’s dad, and will acknowledge all the weird things going on while developing, excuse the pun, in out of this world ways. 

I can’t wait for season 3.

[norgestan]

Hello! I was wondering how would you have liked dani to be and how would you have liked the damira scenes to be ? (the changes you would have made to actually enjoy and ship damira)

okay quick bucket list:

recast dani with a muslim actor of color

rewrite the entire s4 script

done :)

with the funny answer out of the way... there’s simply no way that i could’ve shipped damira, i am sorry. it’s truly beyond me. nothing about their dynamic charms me or makes me think they’re better or any different than the superior option for a white/non-muslim love interest, aka amiris. i can even enjoy virihugo despite really disliking the way they got together and most of their clips anyway. (also this is a good post that explains why dani being amira’s endgame LI is a bit of a fucking joke)

however, there are a couple of ways in which i could’ve enjoyed damira narratively. and that requires heavily tweaking dani as a character as well of how their entire dynamic works. i’ve made plently of jokes of how i am Not an og purist but, if eskam had chosen at least one relationship to develop super closely as it was in og, then i would’ve wanted that relationship to be yousana. they’re my favorite pair in skam for a bunch of reasons and most of them have to do with yousef being so in contact with sana’s culture. one big example of that is the last clip of episode 9 where they go on that iconic date: it’s both a slideshow of their chemistry and sensual/romantic tension as a couple, and a showcase of the thing that makes me love them the most, which is their super long conversation about faith and their future. to me, those were the moments lacking in damira because they got too caught up on painting dani as this hyper-realized version of a LI which turned out to be a self-congratulatory asshole who disrespected amira in various ways. there were never instances in which they seriously discussed dani reverting to islam in the future, or actually conciliated their visions of their faith to really show where they were in sync and where they disagreed to start working on it. after watching the yousana date clip, i left with the impression that yousef reverting to islam was a real possibility, but i can’t say the same for dani. the damira ending in particular rewards dani for being the way he is, and the worst thing is that amira practically encourages him to never be a muslim because she loves him the way he is (what the fuck!). moreover, he never showed any interest in following amira’s conditions, never tried to familiarize himself with her culture and friends (he took her to a BAR to meet HIS friends but he’s never even shown bonding with las labass?), never really cared about anything that wasn’t to get amira to be physically intimate with him. see, when i think of the yousana dynamic i see the yousef as someone who can read the sana and therefore know what to say and do, not because he only wants to charm her but because he genuinely cares about her. even sofianne showed some of that on the earlier episodes of skamfr s4, but that’s completely lost on damira and dani in particular. and i’m not gonna pretend that this task is possible to do with a white, christian-raised love interest. for this to work, whoever sp!yousef is has to be way more in sync culturally with amira.

a way to partially solve that issue is to make dani be honest to amira throughout the season. i don’t doubt he’s genuinely into her but then he doesn’t communicate her his doubts about the relationships and lies to her about the whole “the only problem in our relationship is the haters <3″ bullshit that he spews out for three entire episodes. moreover, dani being honest from the start would’ve given amira enough hints (red flags) that dani didn’t really take any of her conditions seriously and he was just waiting for her to be less strict about the terms that he agreed on, and maybe there would’ve been a real critique to the character that 1) didn’t make amira look like an “annoying religious fanatic” (which she wasn’t at all lol) to most of the white audience who sided with dani when the relationship started falling apart, and 2) taught an actual lesson to amira about how would a relationship between a white dude who has no intentions to be muslim in the future would go like. i can understand why eskam still left the question pending on the air as they wanted to give amira an endgame and they probably didn’t want to make it seem like muslim/christian relationships don’t work in the slightest when this is the first mainstream show with a hijabi protagonist in spain... but eh. fucking cowards.

if it’s not obvious by now, to me, the ideal version of damira is the one where they’re not endgame by any means, even going to the point that i really dislike that dani even likes amira back. i would’ve really loved if dani stayed in amira’s daydreams throughout the season, where her idealized version of a childhood friends to lovers story is quickly replaced by a more realistic relationship with someone who actually makes efforts to be with her (cough cough bi!kasim anyone?). in that case, dani can be as douchebag-ey as he was for the entire season, idc, but now the show would really acknowledge that and drive the message that amira deserves someone who’s attentive and respectful and genuinely loving of her. and hopefully say that without making it seem like it’s impossible for muslims to date non-muslims: more like, it’s unlikely for amira to date dani in particular, and only because he clearly has no interest on following on the things that she values the most - which is a message that applies to every relationship, honestly.

if i had free reign on completely redesigning dani’s character and the damira dynamic, then i would make dani way more understanding and have his clumsiness be acknowledged and criticized instead of both the characters and the audience using it as a justification time and time again. he’d show genuine interest in islam, he’d thoroughly discuss boundaries with amira to assure that they’re both comfortable, he’d made sure to safely insert himself on her spaces and not just drag them to bars and basketball courts on every date, they’d have SO many conversations of faith that truly make him a nuanced character and also help flesh out the reasons of why amira loves being muslim. which i think are just ways of dani respecting amira’s agency and showing genuine interest on her besides his initual infatuation, as all the other endgame LIs of the show have done it. i’d completely erase the stupid “uwu islam won’t let me kiss dani/viceversa” plotpoint from existence, for SURE. with all of those changes i would be neutral on the existence of damira as i am with virihugo, i think. but also the thing that truly holds me back is that... just, the lack of characters of color in the show. with the way kasim was only used as a plot device and dounia was written out off her best friend role very early in, we truly don’t even have a significant presence of muslim people of color in amira’s season. whitewashing yousef is a big part in that too, and that’s why people were so eager to believe that kasim could’ve been amira’s endgame for this season.

[talks-refined]

Why azula, in my opinion, shouldn’t have had a redemption arc

i know it’s a complicated subject in this fandom but i wanted to give my two cents on it! i promise this isn’t me just going “booh evil”

okay so here’s the thing. the reason this is so complicated to answer is because it needs to ask pretty existential and complex questions like, can everyone be redeemed? how is evil made? how much of you is really only your upbringing? is it possible to be inherently bad? what do we fundamentally deserve? can you separate yourself completely from what you’ve been since birth and if so, what’s left?

now if you walked up to me and asked those questions, my answer would probably be something along the lines of “i don’t know, i just got here”. so that’s not what i’m gonna try to answer here

notice how i said “shouldn’t have had” and not “deserved”. i can’t tell you what azula “deserved”— probably a nicer childhood and therapy— but i can also say azula didn’t “deserve” anything. she’s a character, she’s words on paper, animation and voiced acting. there isn’t a real azula, an actual 14 years old child soldier out there awaiting to turn good. characters are story arcs, development, goals... what makes their value isn’t morals but what they bring to the story. and azula brings so much that, in my opinion, being ultimately redeemed would cheapen

first off: zuko. i’ve seen people say azula shouldn’t get a redemption arc because then her story would just be the same as zuko. it’s... not true, obviously, they’re different characters for a reason, but there is a part of truth i wanna point out here:

zuko and azula’s stories are diametrical opposites. two siblings, a boy and a girl, a firebending prodigy and one who’s average at the very best, one favored by his mother, the other favored by her father, one impulsive and one calculating. At the beginning of the story, one angry and unstable, the other calm and confident, one banished, desperate and without honor, and the other a princess and leader, acclaimed by all, who radiates regal energy.

“(ozai) said she was born lucky. he said i was lucky to be born. i don’t need luck, though. i don’t want it. i’ve always had to struggle and fight and that’s made me strong. that’s made me who i am.”

( zuko, to aang, season 1 finale )

that first sentence was the hook that told the viewers azula would come in the picture in season 2 and it tells you exactly the opposite dynamics their characters would develop on. azula is perfect, zuko is a failure is the message we’re supposed to get, at least that’s how they view each other and themselves, because that’s what their father taught them. but here’s the thing: luck is by definition elusive, and perfection is by definition unattainable. azula spends her life building herself around the vision that failure is inexcusable. because she’s at such a high place, because she’s so perfect, she can never fail, because she can’t and because she’s not allowed to. that mentality is bound to doom her, it’s inevitable. it’s a direct opposition to zuko, who builds himself in the fact that he’s failed so many times, that he made so many mistakes, that each taught him lessons. when zuko fails once, he knows he can get up because he was miserable for so long that it taught him he can survive anything. when azula fails once, she crumbles. azula is a cautionary tale of perfectionism, and cautionary tales can’t have happy endings. zuko’s approach of life has to reach a happy ending, because he’ll always look for one, it has to reach a redemption arc because he’s not scared of the mistakes he’s made in the past and he is always trying to better himself (the redemption comes when he realises he was trying to meet the wrong standards). azula’s approach of life guarantees a downfall because she’s convinced that failure is the end.

both their stories mirror each other, backwards. when we meet zuko, he’s failing, always, and when we leave him, he finally won. when we meet azula she’s winning, always, and when we leave her, she finally (by which i mean that it’s inevitable, not that it’s good) fails.

and there’s another reason (let’s pretend this is structured, okay?), that’s a little more complicated, and it has to do with ozai.

you know how ozai is barely present in the series? i’ve seen some people argue that azula is a better villain because she’s scarier or because we see her more. here’s the thing:

when you’re trying to portray something that’s really, really awful, it’s easier not show it. when you show something, in it’s entirety (in that context that would mean making ozai a deep, 3 dimensional character that we see develop) it’s... small. to define is to limit (- oscar wilde). when you only show small things tho, details, in movies it can be shadows, think the beginning of stranger things when you don’t see monsters, but can feel a threat, that’s when it can get scary as shit. because whatever limited, physical (or character-ial? is that a word) form you chose for the villain isn’t there in people’s minds, it’s only their own imagination trying to comprehend what you made them feel. and what people imagine based on only fear, or anger, is easily scarier than any five headed monster you can put onscreen.

that’s what ozai is: a looming threat. hell, i’m not even sure we see his face until season 3. he only has a handful of scenes. but i hate him. i hate him so much i could scream into a pillow and he’s so vicious it sends shivers down my spine. you know why? because of what he did to zuko and azula.

when you wanna keep your main villain mysterious, it’s good to give the audience characters that he’s interacted with. characters that he’s close to enough to have had an effect on them, so they can perceive a part of him. and boy did he have an effect on his children

( to be fair here: that idea and most of what i’m saying about it came from Overly Sarcastic Productions video on minions as a trope. it’s really good i love their whole channel, red is amazing)

season 1: meet zuko. he’s a sixteen years old. he’s a bad guy, but written so that you sympathise with him to a certain extent. then comes the Tragic Backstory Episode and you learn that he was challenged to a duel as a thirteen years old by his father after he spoke without permission in a meeting, begged for mercy, got half of his face burned off at the hands of his father, and was banished from his home to search for the avatar, who was dead as far as anyone knew.

now you’ve seen very little of ozai after this episode, but you’re ready to fight that guy, right? i know i am.

it gains a level of depth with azula. after being introduced to a character who is starving for his father’s love and approval, we’re introduced to a new character, who seemingly has all of that. azula is zuko’s ever winning rival. she has everything he wants, her honor, her title, her father’s favors.

(i think it’s worth noting that making your children compete for your love is already a red flag for noticing pieces of shit)

but it’s not enough. azula has everything, she is everything ozai values (cunning, strong, ruthless) and even then it’s not enough to please him. nothing will ever be good enough. and you see two children fighting, breaking themselves to please a father that is seemingly incapable of love, but keeps baiting them, giving them impossible standards to reach so they’ll always keep trying to please him.

okay, now you hate him, right?

but here’s the thing: because azula was a firebending prodigy, she got a taste of her father’s approval. he saw himself in her, where he saw too much of iroh and ursa in zuko. he was proud of her.

he was never proud of zuko. too soft, not strong, or fearless enough. because of that, zuko was never close to his dad. all he got was disdain. because of that, he forms bonds with other people (with his mother and uncle, at first) that expose him to another vision of life. and in exile, after chasing relentlessly, part of him is pushed to the realisation that he can live without his father’s approval. because he had to.

azula on the other hand, quickly becomes all ozai’s. from flashbacks you can clearly tell each of them gravitates around one parent, zuko around ursa and azula around ozai. even in her other relationships (zuko, tylee, mai...) she behaves according to what her father taught her, how to manipulate and hurt others

and ursa has flaws, god i’m not saying she doesn’t. that deserves a post in itself. but she values things like kindness, softness and love. ozai values strength, power and cunning. childhood is a formative stage: you often build yourself on the way you were raised. zuko had those conflicting values, because ursa, and ozai more indirectly, both taught him. but ozai isolated azula from other (adult) presences. this is more speculation but i really think it’s true, for what it’s worth. we rarely ever see ursa and azula interact, and when we do ursa is i think always? reprimanding azula for something that ozai taught her. it doesn’t seem like they spend enough time together for her to teach her daughter a better way.

that’s the thing. ozai’s “love”, or at least approval, was azula’s curse. zuko thinks it’s something he has to aim for, and later realizes it’s only ever going to be conditional and manipulative and stops trying. because he knew another way. but azula always lived with it. it isolated her, prevented her from ever finding a better way. his “love” is what did this to her

so yeah. none of this is saying that azula could never have been good. she was 14, she had a whole life ahead, i’m not some psychology master that can tell you exactly if it’s even possible to unlearn so much manipulation and abuse- i want to believe it is. but this is a story, and to me it’s the more nuanced, more interesting, better story they could’ve written. i think having those two very different and very paralleled stories, for a show that doesn’t shy away from complexity the way atla does, was very important.

while i was writing this, i showed it to a friend, who can speak for toxic households better than i can, and gave me a new perspective and the best conclusion: when in an abusive parental relationship, there’s always a tearing hesitation between ‘breaking free’ and doing what’s best for you, and staying loyal to your parent, someone you’re supposed to love and who’s supposed to love you. zuko is a message of hope ; azula is a warning

[magical-grrrl-mavis]

Sibling AU

because apparently this is a thing I've got on my mind now. (Probs won't be writing it any time soon but I have a primal need to info dump, and maybe I'll inspire someone else.)

Characters

Eda Clawthorn - Canon Eda: She's Eda. She loves all 3 Noceda girls but is closest to Luz

King - Canon King: He's King. 

Lucia Noceda - Beta Luz: Her weirdness is sorta toned down compared to Canon Luz. She's a bit more angsty. Reeeaaaally needs to smile more. Absolute D E L I N Q U E N T.  Get’s into trouble on purpose, be gay do C R I M E. Feral. Totally down to help with Eda’s less honorable schemes. Tries to seem more “over it” and grown up but is secretly just as enthusiastic as Luz. She's more closed off, her life’s been a bit harder. Very protective of Luz and Laia, DO NOT fuck with them in front of her.  Ready and willing to throw down. Deeeeeefinitely not hopelessly in love with Amelia. Age 17

Luz Noceda - Canon Luz. You know her, you love her. Age 14

Laia Noceda - Pilot Luz: Just as weird as Luz but a bit more laid back and shy. Doesn’t like putting herself out there quite as much as Luz, but gets dragged into her schemes a lot. Huge nerdy bookworm but perfectly capable of being flirty. Actually pretty confident with Anna. Too precious for this world. Is babey. Sits back and observes her sisters antics bc she's actually got a little sense. Age 13

Amelia Blight - Beta Amity: Cold but F E R A L. Doesn't even try to be the little miss perfect anymore but will pretend in front of parents. C H A R I S M A. Will fuck you up. Sorta pyromaniac but not like crazy, just good w/ fire magic and feels calm when she watches flames. Will burn you to ash if you hurt Amity or Anna. Rolls eyes at the twins antics. “You were going to do WHAT with Amity’s diary!?” Lotta internalized shit from her treatment by her parents. THIS CLOSE to burning down Blight manor. “If I have zero friends nobody can hurt me”. Lucia really throws a wrench in that plan. Toooootally not madly in love with Lucia. Natural greenhead but constantly dyes her roots brown as a form of small rebellion and solidarity with Amity and Anna. Age 17

Edric Blight - Canon Edric: You know him. Age 16

Emira Blight - Canon Emira: You know her. Age 16

Amity Blight - Canon Amity: Our girl! Age 14

Anna Blight - pilot Amity: Is babey. Loves books. Shy and tries to stick silently to the background. Just so sweet and precious. PROTECC HER. Tries to do the right thing. Like, ALL her siblings do their best to protect her from her parents. Not good with people at all. Age 13.

Winona Park - Beta Willow: You've seen Dana’s drawing of her. This shady bitch. She knows all your secrets. She will use them against you. Likes a little trouble but doesn't get caught. Ever. By the time you figure out what rule she broke she's already won the game. Don't. Touch. Willow. T R O U B L E. Loner until Lucia came along. Just does not care about anything. Doesn't even try in school  but is still almost as good as Amelia. Not quite as powerful as Willow but still powerful. “What happens if I press this button.” Age 17

Willow Park - Canon Willow: You know her, stronk cinnamon roll. Age 14

Gus Porter - Canon Gus: Boy needs more character development. Age 12

(Story might not go quite like I'm describing it here but it's pretty close.)

Eda was going to eat King when they first met, they tell it like it's just some cute story.

Camilia was going to send both Luz and Laia to normal-person-camp but didn’t even try with Lucia bc she's clearly a lost cause. Lucia waited for the bus with them though, and she and Laia both followed Luz through the portal. Luz was the one who decided to stay on the isles, Laia just agreed bc she also hated the idea of camp, and being a witch sounded fun. Lucia agreed bc “well I'm not leaving my fucking siblings in another dimension on their own” but also was jumping up and down inside at the idea of being a witch.

Lucia and Laia were just vibing at the owl house during Witches Before Wizards because nobody told them shit.

Luz and Laia both went to the school in I Was a Teenage Abomination, Lucia didn’t bc “school? Why would I willingly go to school?” so she wandered off to town to do GOD knows what. Laia just hid in the bottom of the pot, but wandered off, Anna helped save her and get her out in the end. Later, at the covention, Laia gave Anna the “thanks pal” drawing.

Luz and Laia were both captivated by Eda’s magic lesson in Intrudor, Lucia was just hanging back with her arms crossed like she didn't care but inside she was going “I'm gonna be a witch! I'm gonna be a witch!”. Luz discovered the light glyph but Lucia came up with the idea of sticking it on the wall.

At the covention, Lucia saw Amelia and was actually gonna go over and be flirty bc Hot Witch Girl, but then she overheard her talking to Amity about her fighting Luz and instantly big sister mode. They got into a fist fight out back over “my sister’s better than yours.” their relationship after that is just Lucia constantly antagonizing Amelia and almost getting burned. Anna just stayed by the sidelines at the covention and Laia didn't see her until the very end, talked a bit and gave her the drawing b4 being dragged out by Eda.

Laia helped w/ the moonlight conjuring, but Lucia heard "night market" and sneaked off there. She didn't see Eda'z predicament but did run into Winona, who was making trouble and just being generally shady. Lucia helped her out with the shady business because why not and they were instantly friends, their friendship has a lot of Lucia going “you scare me sometimes.”

Laia went to the Library with Luz, she saw Anna just hanging out reading in the corner and immediately went over and sat by her. They were in Amity’s hideout sitting real close reading when Luz and the twins walked in, they left immediately, Anna red as a tomato.

The second Eda said body swap Lucia scooped Laia up and noped on out. It sounded fun to Lucia but for some reason she didn't feel comfortable subjecting Laia to that.

Laia and Lucia went with Eda when she talked to Bump abt enrolling them and just sat back and watched Eda clean up all her messes. Lucia was impressed.

Laia was just as excited to go to Hexside as Luz. But Lucia hated school, even magic school. She only decided to go to keep an eye on her sisters and fuck with Amelia.

Neither Laia note Lucia were interested in going to the Grudgby match. Laia stayed home and read (on the couch. She was so engrossed in her book she missed king walking out with half-transformed Eda) and Lucia went to hang out with Winona.

Laia and Anna worked together on a book for the writing contest. It won. Lucia wrote one too but it git rejected for being too graphic. It made one of the judges who read it start seeing a therapist.

All three went to the knee. Lucia went along with Eda'z crazy teaching because it seemed hysterical to her crackheaded mind, she missed the whole Slitherbeast thing bc she was off with moss in her ears, dirt over her eyes and pine needle mulch in her nose. Laia was incredibly disappointed that Anna wasn't there with the other blights. She didn't even try to stop Luz from stealing the wand bc she knew she wouldn't listen. She was just as impatient as Luz, just not rash. They figured out the ice glyph together.

Lucia chose the bard track in First Day bc she wants to be in a band. Laia couldn't choose just like Luz and got stuck in the Oracle Coven. Lucia got caught just like Luz and ended up in the detention track, Barkus was a bit more wary about her. She helped fight the basalisk I guess. Laia just stayed in class. Both Luz and Laia got to be in every track, Lucia chose only Bard, Beast Keeping and Illusion.

When Luz and co were shrunk at the carnival, Laia was off hanging out with Anna, and Lucia was doing something crackheaded with Winona. (Seriously, you could write such good fluff fics about Anna and Laia, and insane crack fics about Lucia and Winona.)

Idfk what Laia and Lucia were up top in Understanding Willow

Anna and Laia went to Grom together. They're such unassuming people that the only people who noticed were Eda and King bc they helped Laia get ready, and Amelia. Who had very mixed feelings bc 1- that's Lucia's sister, but 2- she actually kinda likes Laia and Luz.

Lucia begged Luz to let her take over as Grom queen but no dice. She ran to help too when Luz ran off but was too slow, she didn't get there until the very end of the dance.

Look, Laia is too much of a bookworm to care about sports and Lucia just thinks their stupid, so neither of them watched Luz play in Wing it like Witches.

Eda made cloaks for all 3 girls. Lucia and Laia were in the wrong year to go on the field trip to the emperor's palace. After school Laia went to the library with Anna and Lucia went to hang out with Winona. Laia and Anna fell asleep reading in Amity's secret room and Lucia and Winona lost track of time hanging out, neither got home until the next morning, and they found Luz crying on the floor.

Imagine with me, all 3 noceda girls breaking into the conformatorium to save Eda. All three wailing on Belos, Laia with a fuck ton of glyph papers, Luz with Eda's staff and some glyphs, and Lucia with a red aluminum bat covered in glyphs. They don't beat him but they do a lot more damage than just chiping his mask.

Imagine all 3 sisters agreeing silently to destroy the portal. For Eda.

[aqvarius]

Do you think Kazuomi is actually really serious with his relationship with mc? Because I don't think so and I feel bad since his mc is most likely be more invested in their relationship emotion-wise.... Same goes with Kei too, even though his hasn't overcome his trauma but I think he shouldn't be in a relationship with his mc (cant put it into words). How would you rank them in terms of "serious, emotionly and mentally stable, compatability" since imho only yuzu and his mc are a fit lol

hmmmmmm good question. i have to admit that i haven’t yet played kazu’s s2 fully (but have read his s2 pov and the epis) but the feeling i get from his and his mc’s relationship is that it’s a really fresh relationship which hasn’t yet matured. kazuomi and his mc are a good match in terms of chemistry and compatibility in that they always challenge each other. i did think they were finally getting close in obscura where he finally got to see her ‘real self’ and i was kinda hoping they would drop the whole games thing and really start to get to know each other beyond the banter. and then they kind of went and reversed that development with nudus and season 2. his s2 pov made me realise that at that time, he wasn’t actually in love with his mc, he’s just attracted to her more intensely than he has been with the other women in her life. so he ‘fell’ for her in season 1 but in my opinion it wasn’t really love. and tbh even at the end of his season 2, i think he likes her VERY much but i’m still on the fence as to whether or not it’s love. i think it’s pretty obvious from the way i talk about my favourite voltage moments/characters/couples that i love DEVELOPMENT lol and i just feel like with kazu and his mc, there is a sort of sense of arrested development? one of the big issues in his season 2 imo that i feel didn’t get resolved in his pov (i can’t say about the main route) is that he is confronted with having to change his way of life for the sake of his gf and their relationship and yet every time he chooses to just do things his own way? 

edit: rest of the answer placed under cut for season 2 spoilers + length

for kazu, i feel like their relationship will only mature when he’s willing to give up the core aspects of his “selling points” (money/power/games) for his mc and their relationship. i do understand that they’re still pretty early on in their relationship, like it’s just been a matter of months and you don’t get deep with people that easily, but i hope that we do eventually get to see him really change in the future and they can love each other sincerely for who they are underneath all the games and banter. i think that’s why i love his self-pleasure story in otkoi bc we just got to see kazu do stuff that’s so not his style just for her, and then they had a really straightforward and wholesome talk about what’s missing in their relationship without being hidden behind codes and games. 

i think they rely so much on the concept of kazuomi as thrilling that we don’t really get to see that many genuine moments with him which i’m a bit sad about, because i love his genuine side the most. even in devians, when he was pretending to be normal, he still orchestrated everything and then the story took it back to that whole concept where the selling point of the route is that kazuomi is really rich and powerful and does huge grand gestures. i don’t mind that bc kazuomi is Extra to his very core but i really miss the REAL kazuomi that we saw in his s1 being all soft for just like... seeing busy and vibrant spaces full of happy people.

insert that magneto “i prefer the real [owner of the] raven [hotel]” meme lmao.

ANYWAY i do think that his occultus second night shows him finally starting to open up a little outside of just like “you’re the only one who can match up to my wits”. i feel like kazuomi showing off with grand gestures and flaunting his wealth and power is kind of his way of coping with the loneliness and trauma of the darkest part of his life, which is why it’s so significant that he lets her into the space where he was at a low point living in that motel before meeting zack. i hope that we get to see kazu really have to sacrifice some of his current core values/priorities for the sake of his mc, and i hope the way he thinks about her changes to become deeper and more mature beyond just like “she can always stand up to my challenges” - basically going from liking and being attracted to her to really loving her. 

with kei, i have a lot of mixed feelings about how bdsm is presented. since i’m not a mental health professional, i don’t really want to make any strong comments about what’s healthy or not when dealing with childhood trauma aside from like the idea that therapy is important (although kei himself admits that he’s actively driven away all his therapists). but i agree that he hasn’t overcome his trauma and, like kazu, still hasn’t even after the events of his s2. i haven’t read any of the content after his s2 main story so i can’t speak on what happens when his mc meets his grandparents and such but just based on the way he just peaced out during his s2, it’s evident that his issues manifest through at the very least his phobia of commitment (not even going to comment on the way he acted when her necklace was broken and how she was literally afraid of his reaction and also the way he like... forced her to drink juice? i picked the option where i tried to reject the juice and the fact that he forced me to anyway and she drank it bc she was afraid of him made me really uncomfortable lol). in my opinion, his sexual relationship with his mc is also very much based on his issues with power and control (ostensibly stemming from trauma) and she kind of bends over backwards to not step on his toes when it comes to his control issues. my experience with bdsm is that communication (and aftercare lol) is so important for maintaining a healthy relationship but i just kind of feel like she’s not necessarily an active participant as a sub and doesn’t really know what being a sub entails in a healthy dynamic but rather is just like going along with what he wants bc (1) it’s thrilling maybe? (they really play up the like physical pleasure aspect) and (2) he might be kinda distant if they don’t do it like that? i guess? i don’t really know bc i don’t tend to read his stories bc i’m not like the most comfortable with how they deal with power play. 

i do think that the relationship he has with his mc isn’t exactly a balanced and healthy relationship? and i also think that kazuomi’s relationship (that we’ve seen so far) is also kinda unhealthy lol. essentially, with both kazu and kei, i feel like their relationships with their mcs kind of enable (what i perceive to be) the coping mechanism aspects of their personalities. 

WITH THAT SAID, i don’t think that people need to be at a fully stable and emotionally mature place to fall in love and start relationships and honestly voltage loves doing the thing where like the mc falls for awful people bc they’re only so mean bc they're so broken and she wants to fix them uwu shinobu narita lmao which personally i don’t like, but it does make for dramatic routes and does set up for future development. it’s still early stages yet in their relationships since i think they’ve only been together for a few months, and they’re definitely still testing the waters. i think we’re being tricked/distracted by all those dramatic climax moments into thinking that their relationship is really serious but tbh they are just barely beginning to actually open up to each other. i just hope that they allow the love interests (and their respective mcs) to mature and develop into healthy people without just throwing out life threatening routes where the relationship dynamic doesn’t necessarily change but it just becomes about newer and grander ways of making big and powerful gestures to save the situation lol. does that make sense? i don’t know if i’m articulating myself well. 

but anyway i agree, from season 1 i always though yuzu’s mc was the best out of all of them. and they are the only ones who have a remotely healthy relationship like why is the yuzu the only one who’s actually considerate? sometimes he can be such an obtuse block of wood but that’s just who he is as a person. and when it comes to the important stuff, he’s actually the most willing to change and compromise for his mc. like... the Difference between kazuomi and his mc’s contract scene vs yuzu and his mc’s contract scene is kind of astronomical. even in yuzu’s devians which is like 3 chapters long only, you can see his growth from being an insensitive blockhead to really trying to understand what she needs from their relationship. and just looking at the way that he treats her emotions re: their relationship has evolved from treating it like a beta test where they give each other feedback reports to him embracing her ‘bugs’? that’s growth babey. time for kazuomi and kei to learn some lessons from the only valid masquerader. 

[miraculouscontent]

Hi! If you could improve both Marinette/Ladybug and Sabrina''s treatment in "Miraculer", how would you do so? And how do you think the episode could be improved in general? Thank you! I appreciate your insights and conscientiousness for making the writing quality much better!

dkjfgnjdkfngj t-thank you!

The thing about “Miraculer” honestly is that its plot in terms of build-up is not technically bad.

In fact, it’s actually really solid for Miraculous standards.

It references “Style Queen.”

It brings back the Gabriel-Lila team-up from “Onichan.”

It shows what happens when Cataclysm is used on a person.

It addresses an issue concerning Chloe’s current standing as Queen Bee.

And, it continues the plot of Gabriel and Nathalie working together (I know that we’re clearly missing some episodes here but I’m not going to hold that over the episode itself. maybe they’re getting around Nathalie’s sickness in some way. I don’t know so I won’t judge until we’ve seen what’s up on that front).

In that way, it’s “Onichan,” Part 2, but… well… that doesn’t make it good or enjoyable (and it feels weird right after “Onichan” to see Nathalie being Gabriel’s partner rather than his employee).

Not only that, but it does exactly what “Onichan” does: giving too much focus to other characters than the one given the akuma.

This episode has a lot going on, and I don’t think it’s able to balance everything.

So, we’re gonna have to go point by point here… again.

[Safreena]

Will someone release this girl into the freaking wild already?

Because, okay, let’s get the akuma’s victim out of the way first, since we’ve been through this song and dance before.

This show cannot keep telling me that these two are “like, the best of friends” when Chloe keeps treating Sabrina like garbage. Chloe didn’t apologize to Sabrina for yelling at her, nor did Chloe make up for it aside from just letting Sabrina play pretend with her again (which is not an apology, even if Chloe lets Sabrina keep the Ladybug costume).

I can only imagine that the difference between Miraculer and Vanisher is Hawk Moth’s choice of words and the fact that Sabrina has someone else to target (i.e: Ladybug) this time, because otherwise, I cannot fathom why Sabrina wouldn’t be mad at Chloe again after Chloe has snapped at her for next to nothing.

It’s not healthy nor logical for Sabrina to stay in this relationship, and no, the show giving us three measly moments (that we did not even see in previous episodes) where they got along doesn’t make anything better.

Yet again, Chloe has taken over an episode where Sabrina gets akumatized. Once is understandable if it is a plot point (it isn’t; it’s a setup for Chloe’s plot point and Marinette to learn a “lesson”), but two with, again, no plot point that’s for her, is going overboard.

Having Chloe in a Sabrina episode, honestly, is inevitable. I understand that. Chloe is a huge part of Sabrina’s life.

But when Sabrina shows up in an episode that’s centered around her akumatization, it ends up being about Chloe. Typically, in episodes, when a person who’s akumatized, we get to know more about them, or they get to develop in someway, even if it’s a small amount.

Heck, even in episodes with characters who showed up for that one episode only, we got to learn about them. Just about the only exception was the kid in “Sandboy” who had zero time to get any development because the episode was packed with other stuff.

But it is Season 3 and we still know next to nothing about Sabrina. The episode may be packed, but we are shown the lead-up of Sabrina’s akumatization with no actual pay-off.

Sabrina, in this episode, is nothing but a tool that the writers are using to test Chloe. She’s not a person; she’s a prop.

That’s why she can’t separate from Chloe. The writers needed her to make Chloe look good by having her reject an akuma after it touched her object (something that no one has ever done). They needed someone to get akumatized, but they knew–they must’ve known–that it would look back if Chloe got akumatized over Ladybug again.

And we’ve established all the way back in “Evillustrator” that Sabrina shouldn’t be around Chloe, right? Yet here we are again, playing this charade and being shown moments that simply do not matter because they don’t take away the terrible things Chloe has done.

Speaking of whom…

[Showy Bourgeois]

Uggggggh.

Alright, yes, Chloe rejecting the akuma was a “good for her” moment and–maybe–a sign of her loyalty for Ladybug.

But that’s not the problem here.

The problem is Chloe’s behavior everywhere else. We’re just back to the bully Chloe who’s loud and complains and isn’t fun because she’s not given any good lines to work with.

And this has been the Chloe we’ve had for a while; for the whole show, honestly. She arrives, she’s mean, she yells a bit, does one maybe-nice thing, and then she goes off into the abyss until someone needs a good akumatizing.

I like Chloe best when she’s mean but fun. The “that’s three questions” line was a good example and I want more of that, because otherwise it’s just Chloe screaming at people until the plot kicks in.

I want Chloe to channel that cruelty and focus it solely on the villains instead of on Sabrina.

And really, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. No one’s around to keep Chloe in check. Chloe doesn’t have a reason to change.

Ladybug helped her take the first few steps, but Andre is still her father, Sabrina is still her friend, and because miraculouses aren’t permanent (and Pollen is submissive anyway), there is no one to tell Chloe what she should and shouldn’t be doing. The best Chloe has is Jean (her butler) and he can’t actively speak out because he can be fired the moment he oversteps his bounds.

Chloe is still too volatile. She’s still prone to presuming the worst in people. Even when Marinette tries to comfort her, Chloe is still acting like what Marinette did in “Malediktator” didn’t happen.

And I’d honestly be fine with that if I saw Chloe’s conflict with it. If the show wants to convince me that Chloe’s improving, the solution is not to have Chloe act the same 90% of the time and then have the other 10% be her acting differently than she usually would.

We, as an audience, should see what the difference between Chloe then and Chloe now.

When Chloe acts out of line, we should see a sense of regret. When Sabrina runs out in tears, we should see Chloe go from seething to shocked to horrified as she realizes that she took her anger out on someone who didn’t deserve it.

When Chloe yells at Marinette, we should see a flash of the party Marinette threw for her in “Malediktator,” followed by Chloe clamming up from her shouting and simply storming off.

The show doesn’t have to stop Chloe from doing any bad things right after “Malediktator,” but it needs to show that she’s been affected and impacted by everything that’s been happening to her. She doesn’t have to have regrets all the time, but she should start caring about people who cared for her. She can still be mean, but she needs to be mean at the right people.

Which, honestly, brings us to the big question that this episode doesn’t even try to address.

[Miraculoss]

Does Chloe really deserve a miraculous?

This isn’t about her identity as Queen Bee. This has nothing to do with the fact that she revealed herself to everyone.

This is about entitlement. This is about feeling that something is owed.

Should miraculouses be given out to those who feel like they earned or deserve it?

Does it even matter if they’re good at using their powers?

Is someone who uses their powers effectively worth keeping around regardless of the trouble they cause during their civilian life?

Can that even be a question when a miraculous can just be given to a person who hasn’t nearly killed dozens of people in a potential train accident?

But instead of talking about these things, the show takes another opportunity to push everything onto Ladybug.

Ladybug has to talk to Chloe. Ladybug has to tell her that she can’t be Queen Bee anymore. Ladybug is the one to apologize despite the fact that she is kept very busy (something that Chat seems to constantly forget about, even thinking that it’s okay to keep talking to her while her miraculous is going off like a fire alarm). Even just Marinette has to be lectured by Tikki to go see Chloe as Ladybug anyway even though Marinette already talked to Chloe as Marinette (which was an obvious thing that honestly has no purpose and could’ve been used to have Marinette talk to Tikki about if her feelings towards Chloe’s behavior has changed).

Would Chloe have believed Chat? No one knows because Chat didn’t try. Just like “Glaciator,” Chat doesn’t imagine Ladybug having personal problems or a life outside of superheroing. She’s the “leader” (despite them being called partner’s multiple times and talking like they’re equal), so Ladybug has to do it.

And it’s not like they explain why Chat doesn’t do it. I mean, is it Chloe; the fact that Chloe only would’ve listened to Ladybug?

…Because that’s all the more reason to not use Chloe at all.

We all remember “Antibug,” yes? We all remember the lesson that Marinette didn’t need to learn?

It was about teamwork. It was about listening to others. And that’s something Chloe needs to learn about.

If Chloe can’t respect Chat Noir, Carapace, and Rena Rouge, then she shouldn’t be on the team, period. If Ladybug is the only one she’ll listen too, then that’s not teamwork. Just because Ladybug is the planner doesn’t mean that Chloe would never have to listen to someone else.

Now, if Chloe was fighting with a specific member of the team–like Rena Rouge–and Rena was also fighting back, that’d be different. That would be a conflict that the two team members would either need to sort out or they would have to get out.

And that’s not something that’s discussed either. They don’t talk about the possibility of getting a new holder for the bee and instead still give it to Chloe even when something shady was obviously going on with the sentimonster and akumatized person not being a team (I know we know basically nothing about this yet but Ladybug says it’s weird so I’m rolling with it).

These are all questions I was asking mid-watch and they were never discussed, because it’s easier not to discuss them.

Discussing any of those topics brings Chloe’s worth as a person into question. If Chloe’s worth as a holder is questioned, then the audience will inevitably wonder why Chloe is let loose on the world in civilian form with no one reigning her in.

And, with the possibility that she’ll be given the bee again, that trend continues. Chloe gets a free ride where no one around her has to wonder, “Hey, is this worth it?”

Chloe is an effective bee, and that’s great. It’s good that she was able to take her akumatized father down in “Malediktator.”

And Marinette is a good person. She wanted Chloe to have the bee in hopes that it would make Chloe a better person. I see what Marinette was trying to do, but…

how much good would Queen Bee do for Chloe, really? Chloe has been given a miraculous, what, three times after “Malediktator?” She’s been Queen Bee for maybe a few hours?

When that transformation drops, Chloe still goes home to someone who spoils her rotten. She still goes to school with a girl who does whatever she wants. She still gets waited on by a butler who can’t do anything of value at risk of losing his job.

I’ve said it before, but what Chloe needs is not endless praise and kindness and people being “good examples.” What Chloe needs are boundaries.

When Chloe gets things taken away from her–when there are consequences to her actions–she reacts, but only as long as those things are still held against her.

Once she’s given full trust, she reverts right back to how she was before, with the exception that she receives praise for doing the slightest thing correctly because the tonal whiplash makes it look more impressive. That’s just how it is.

Is Chloe worth trying to “save” as a person? Maybe, but do I think that it should involve a gamble with a miraculous? Absolutely not.

[Bore Game]

Even disregarding Chloe and her constant shouting, this episode isn’t very fun. While the episode tries to squeeze in references and plot elements from other episodes, the final result isn’t something I enjoy watching.

Seeing what Cataclysm does to a person is… something, I suppose, but after Volpina’s illusion in “Catalyst,” it’s not anything special. It hurts, it drains energy, and that’s it. Now, of course, Cataclysm could do worse if used on a normal human, but because Chat’s catsuit is invincible, we don’t get to see any physical damage. We see the impact, we see Chat struggling, and we see Adrien and Plagg hurt and tired.

But then, Chat has to get right back up again to fight Miraculer, getting hit around like a ragdoll in the process. That first Cataclysm hurt, but it doesn’t mean much since Chat has other things he has to do during the episode, so he’s “hurt, but just strong enough to still do everything.”

I don’t need to see Chat bleeding or anything, but just something to show us visually (on his person, not through animation) that he’s roughed up. Belt slightly undone, wrist cuffs twisted, a cat ear bent down at an awkward angle, something!

If Miraculer’s powers were just a downgrade of the actual powers, that’d be different, but they’re not. Miraculer can take them and use them infinitely, which is like… show, I’m not the type to complain about the villains acting OP, but I don’t know what else I can say when it’s so obvious? I mean, they could’ve at least injected some comedy there, like maybe Lucky Charm is bad for Miraculer because she never knows what to do with the charms, yet Ladybug takes them and uses them to her advantage instead.

Anyway, not only that, but Miraculer doesn’t feel like a threat. She’s practically a child, still dedicated to Chloe and being annoying to all the wrong people.

Honestly, she’s in my Top 5 Most Annoying Akuma Victims, easily.

I see what the setup is doing, having Hawk Moth using Miraculer to lure Chloe to their side (even though I’m not sure exactly what they plan to do once they have her since everyone knows that Chloe is Queen Bee; do they only plan to akumatize her? Use her for sentimonsters? The bee is a close combat miraculous, so Chloe can’t hide in the shadows like they can and her miraculous is an easy grab), but with Miraculer being someone who annoys and mockingly imitates people, that’d be the perfect time to give Chloe a taste of her own medicine.

Instead, we just get the same old Sabrina, the same old Chloe with the same old “I might be a good person somewhere” piece of dialog, and the same old formula of having plots that could have potental but are left to the wayside because dealing with complex issues is hard.

[Raincomfix]

Adjusting this episode is… complicated, especially considering that Hawk Moth obviously has something planned for Chloe later (and the possibility that she could still get the bee back; honestly questioning how much the show doesn’t want to make new transformation models for other characters). Either way, I would take Chloe’s miraculous away, but the outcomes here change everything.

Firstly, let’s aim for redemption.

For that adjustment, we first have to change Chloe’s reactions. For example, Chloe’s attitude while waiting to be given the bee may start off angry, and Chloe may toss a few insults at how “useless” the team is without her, but here, she’s going to become very quickly anxious.

Maybe Ladybug didn’t see the signal.

Maybe Ladybug forgot where she lived.

Maybe Ladybug was too far away to get to Chloe in time.

Chloe’s reasoning with herself. She’s rationalizing. This brings back “Malediktator” where Chloe lamented how few friends she had.

And while stressing out over Ladybug, Chloe is neglecting Sabrina.

Meanwhile, Chat and Ladybug only very briefly discuss Queen Bee. Chat is hesitant to say that Chloe doesn’t deserve a miraculous and thus tries to focus on the identity issue, whereas Ladybug is concerned that Chloe isn’t improving enough in her civilian life.

Also, instead of mocking Carapace and Rena Rouge in front of Adrien and the others, Chloe is sulking while pretending she’s not sulking. Marinette approaches and, while Chloe’s initial response is hostile, Chloe softens upon remembering “Malediktator” and realizing that Marinette is trying to comfort her.

Then, Chloe immediately puts up a front and walks away, though isn’t aggressive with Marinette. Chloe just doesn’t like leaving her defenses down since it makes her feel vulnerable.

Marinette considers that reaction and talks to Tikki about a variety of things. Chloe seems to be improving, but is it a big enough improvement? How much should they expect out of her, considering her environment? What about the identity risk? Is the risk worth it if Chloe has been showing signs of good?

Cut to the scene where Chloe is frustrated and takes it out on Sabrina. As Sabrina runs off, Chloe realizes what she did and is instantly regretful. Instead of Sabrina remembering all those “good times” they had together, it’s Chloe, showing that those moments meant something to her. It’s made clear to the audience that Chloe is a mess due to the conflicting influences around her.

Hawk Moth senses that Chloe’s anger has faded and that Chloe cares about Sabrina, so Hawk Moth decides to let the akuma chase Sabrina instead, hoping to use Sabrina to lure Chloe to his side (much like in the original).

The episode plays out mostly as normal, only Chloe is left to consider the fact that she caused Sabrina to get akumatized again, except this time, she feels bad about it. She called herself a hero, but heroes aren’t supposed to cause akumatizations. That’s not right.

By the end of the episode, Chloe has already taken everything into consideration. Thus, before Ladybug can even start talking about Chloe no longer being Queen Bee, Chloe starts talking about how she “doesn’t even want the bee anymore, so Ladybug can just keep it.”

The wind just messes up her hair. She can’t wait around just in case Ladybug might give her the miraculous; she has important Chloe things to do!

In reality, Chloe has recognized that she doesn’t deserve the bee and that Mayura was stalking her. She’s just making the moment easier for both Ladybug and herself.

After Ladybug and the others leave, Sabrina runs up to Chloe, all concerned and friendly like nothing happened and Chloe didn’t snap at her. This affects Chloe emotionally and helps her manage to get out an apology, even if it’s a bit mumbled (apologies are still difficult for her).

The end of the episode is them walking back into the hotel, talking about their next game of pretend. A bit awkwardly, Chloe asks if Sabrina wants to pick who’s who this time.

The episode cuts off there, but that moment shows the audience that Chloe is really trying hard. It shows that Chloe cares about people and that she’s willing to do better.

Now, the unredeemed Chloe version of this episode honestly isn’t that different from the original in terms of how Chloe acts. The only notable difference is that her fighting back against Hawk Moth’s influence is more of a joke than some sort of “character growth” moment.

The big change to the episode, however, is Sabrina. Sabrina’s given a lot more focus.

Why is Sabrina with Chloe? Did Sabrina try to make other friends, and if so, why didn’t she succeed? Does Sabrina care for Chloe, or is it a fear of Chloe that makes Sabrina react?

This would all be addressed, especially as Jean shows up in the episode and would be the perfect person for Sabrina to talk to about Chloe. Instead of the episode stalling and keeping its attention on Chloe’s loud complaints about Ladybug not bringing the bee to her, the focus shifts to Jean and Sabrina, who had moved out of Chloe’s range of hearing while Chloe is “having a moment.”

Jean doesn’t technically discourage Sabrina from staying friends with Chloe, but he hints that Sabrina should question whether or not she’s happy where she is in her friendships.

Sabrina, of course, passes this off as silly. Her and Chloe are best friends! They fight sometimes–okay, Chloe fights–but that’s totally normal, right?

Jean gives her an unsure expression that makes Sabrina falter.

During the scene where Chloe is complaining to Adrien, Chloe’s yelling at Marinette just makes Marinette even more hesitant about letting Chloe be Queen Bee again, much less giving Chloe another miraculous. Tikki tries to suggest the good moments that Chloe’s had, only for Marinette to argue that… is it even worth it? Why bring along someone who needs time and effort to improve when she could find someone else who’d do the job without all this hassle?

Tikki doesn’t have a response to that. Experience means nothing when a different holder can just be trained all over again.

Back with Chloe and Sabrina (Chloe waiting for Ladybug again), Sabrina finally starts considering what Jean had told her after Chloe has yelled at her.

Hawk Moth, nonetheless, tries to get his plan in place, and manages to convince Sabrina (remember, Chloe’s defiance is a joke in this version) to become Miraculer to get Chloe’s attention one last time.

After everything’s said and done, Ladybug admits to Chloe that Chloe can’t have the bee anymore. Chloe is angry and argues that she does well as the bee.

Chat steps in to claim it’s about her identity, but Ladybug turns it on him, pointing out that Chat had refused to tell Chloe himself… why?

Chat stiffens.

Ladybug continues, saying it’s because Chloe sees Chat as a sidekick. Chloe isn’t a team player. Chloe listens to Ladybug and no one else. Ladybug knows what Chloe says about Rena and Carapace “behind her back” and she does not appreciate it.

This isn’t just about identity. This is because Chloe causes akumatizations, is still rude and inconsiderate to people who are only trying to help her, and feels entitled to a miraculous when that is something for Ladybug to decide.

Ladybug commends Chloe for the few times she’s tried, but also adds that it’s not enough. Chloe once told her that she wants to change, but isn’t putting steps in place to do anything about it.

Chloe is stunned by this lecture, then begins fuming, claiming that she “doesn’t need Ladybug anyway” and she “didn’t even want to be a part of their team” (obvious lies).

Chloe then storms off, demanding that Sabrina follow.

“…No.”

Chloe stops, spinning on her heel to face Sabrina. “What?”

“I…” Sabrina stands, not meeting Chloe’s gaze and practically shaking. “I said… no.”

“You can’t just say ‘no’ to me!” Chloe shouts.

Meekly, Sabrina looks at Chloe, voice soft. “I… just did.”

Chloe gapes.

Sabrina continues, nearing tears. “Ladybug’s right. You try, but that’s not enough. I just wanted to make you feel better and you snapped at me. You hurt me and… you’re not even sorry, are you?”

“Ugh.” Chloe flips her hair. “It’s not a big deal. We do this all the time.”

“And that’s the problem!” Sabrina says, raising her voice. “I’m sick of that! I’m stressed out and I can’t take it anymore!”

She turns, hugging herself, then walks over to Ladybug. “C-can you take me home, please?”

Ladybug is surprised, but nods. She reaches for Sabrina, pauses, then glances at Chloe.

“…Actually…”

She turns to Chat, who’s stood conflicted this whole time. “Chat, will you do it?”

Ladybug leans in, whispering, “I want to make sure Hawk Moth won’t come after Chloe.”

Chat nods, then gives Chloe a sympathetic gaze before picking Sabrina up and leaping away. Chloe shouts after Sabrina to come back, but her words are worthless now.

And with that, Chloe would glare at Ladybug, clearly blaming her for all these problems (classic projection), which would be a setup for a future akumatization from Hawk Moth.

The latter points out the faults in Chloe’s environment–that Chloe can’t improve without boundaries–and makes steps to change that by removing Sabrina.

The former probably won’t function for Hawk Moth’s future plans, but could if he was able to escalate a situation and make Chloe believe some sort of falsehood about Ladybug.

I wouldn’t call “Miraculer” a bad episode exactly. I like some of these setups and I like some of the references.

It just doesn’t work as a product that’s trying to make me feel something for Chloe. The only reason that any reaction to Chloe’s changes are so strong is because the writers intentionally write her as rude and nasty as Season 1 Chloe so that the flashbacks and false akumatization hit harder, which is not a natural state of character progression.

Instead of feeling bad for Chloe, I’m left wondering why Ladybug doesn’t just find a new bee during a time where there aren’t any akumatizations or sentimonsters so they can be trained to Queen Bee’s level. This amount of work to improve someone who doesn’t even feel remorse for yelling at her best friend is not worth it. It has never been worth it.

Like, here’s a question: how many episodes did it take for Rena Rouge and Carapace to get their stuff together? One each.

Alya’s moment of weakness was refusing to return the miraculous. Nino’s weakness was wanting to protect Alya but not having the strength to do so. Both of these were resolved in the episode that introduced them.

Chloe has had over four episodes that have her showing clear struggles of being Queen Bee.

“Queen Wasp” - nearly killed dozens of people to “prove herself,” then got akumatized because Ladybug obviously didn’t like that

“Malediktator” - tries to show improvement but then has a “Despair Bear” moment where she’s clearly still Chloe

“Heroes’ Day” - identity came back to bite her

“Miraculer” - is still being a terrible person and showing little desire to actually change her ways

So why does Queen Bee stand on the same ground as Rena and Carapace? Is gambling on her improving using a miraculous really the way to go?

No. No, it’s not. It’s not exactly hard to find someone with higher moral standards than Chloe who can just be taught the ways of the bee.

[korora12]

Ladybug Week Day 4 - Vacation

Minor content warning: the rules of ladybug week asked that everything remain sfw, and I believe I did that; everyone’s clothes stay on and nothing explicit is described. That being said, this chapter does contain the kind of frank and open conversations about sex and boundaries that are important to a healthy relationship. Again, nothing explicit, but if talking about it makes you squeamish, then you’ve been warned.

Day 3 Day 5

Word Count: 2055

 The crew of the Crescent Rose had elected to take a week off. As far as vacations went, it wasn’t much. They didn’t really have enough funds to go anywhere nice, but a week without having to worry about keeping the ship running or finding their next job was enough of a stress relief to be worth it.

Yang had taken Weiss out on Bumblebee, giving Ruby and Blake the run of the ship. They’d started out trying to binge-watch a holo-series adaptation of a book they’d both read, the two of them leaning against each other in the ship’s common room, watching the projection. Unfortunately, despite having been wanting to watch the show for months, Blake was having a hard time following along. Instead, her thoughts were plagued by the woman at her side.

Ruby wasn’t just her captain anymore. She was her girlfriend now, but the change was so recent that they hadn’t yet figured out what that meant. The two of them had developed a deep connection almost from the beginning, going from being strangers to reading each other’s minds in record time. They weren’t the same person, not even close, and yet the same things made them laugh. The same things made them cry. The same things hurt them.

Blake craved that kind of relationship with someone, and had been overjoyed when Ruby had blown past all her defenses and asked to take the next step. But now she found herself fumbling that step and was suddenly terrified of ruining everything. The couple had a profound emotional bond, and Blake had thought that would be enough, but now she found herself struggling with the day-to-day parts of having a girlfriend. All the little things, stuff she used to consider shallow surface-dressing, were turning out to be more important than she’d expected. Blake was supposed to be the mature, experienced one, but she really only had one past relationship to draw on, and that was more a lesson about what not to do with, or accept from, a person. She found herself left with so many questions that she didn’t know the answers to.

When is it okay to hold her hand? How long can they cuddle for? Is it okay to share a bathroom? A shower? A bed? When should she treat Ruby like her girlfriend and when is it better to treat her like her boss?

“Can I kiss you?”

Blake turned her head and locked eyes with Ruby. Her chin was perched on Blake’s shoulder, face centimeters away. It looked like she’d been dealing with her own stream of thoughts.

Blake gave the idea a moment of consideration before nodding her consent, turning her body for a better angle. Ruby leaned in, pressing her mouth against Blake’s own. She felt something wet touch her lips and she opened them, letting Ruby inside.

Blake had been kissed before, but never like this. Not like in her books. In the past, kisses had been rough, possessive, almost violent; a quick meeting to remind her who she belonged to. This one was different, softer and more timid. Ruby tasted like…

Well, she tasted like tongue. And saliva. And a little bit of the breakfast they’d shared that morning. It wasn’t like she’d read; there was no fire in her belly or tremble in her knees. There was just a tongue inside her mouth. Ruby seemed happy, though, smiling when she finally pulled back, and that was enough to make Blake happy.

“You seemed distracted,” Ruby said.

Blake nodded. “I keep thinking about us.”

“You want to turn this off and talk about it?”

Blake glanced at the images projected into the air. One of the characters was in the middle of a stare-down with a wild boar. She didn’t remember the scene from the book, nor did she have any idea how they got to that point. “Yeah,” she agreed, and the images disappeared.

Despite agreeing to talk, Blake found herself struggling with what to say next. Ruby, however, didn’t seem to have the same difficulty, taking Blake’s hands in her own before speaking. “I think communication is the most important part of maintaining a healthy relationship. So if you have any questions or concerns, you can always ask or tell me them. Nothing’s too personal.” She stopped abruptly, as if interrupted by her own thoughts. “Oh,” she continued, “but if you’re not comfortable talking about something yet, that’s fine. Just say so, and I won’t push.”

“OK,” Blake said. She took a deep breath to calm her wild nerves and racing pulse. Then, taking the plunge and not letting herself rethink it, she asked the first question that came to mind. “Have you ever been with anyone else?”

“A few times,” Ruby answered, not hesitating at all. “There was never anything serious, though. Just a few flings that lasted a week or two before falling apart. Never anything like this.” Her face took on a slightly pink tinge. “Or, did you mean sexually?”

Blake hadn’t meant that; she’d been more concerned with the thought of there being any exes she needed to look out for. But now she was curious. “Have you?”

Ruby squirmed a bit, but answered anyway. “Yeah, during some of those flings.”

“What’s it like?” Blake asked. Every species treated sex after their own fashion; the differences were extremely evident when you read romance novels as often as Blake did. Humans in particular seemed to treat it like the greatest thing in the universe.

“I’m probably not the best person to ask that,” Ruby answered, her blush fading. “It’s fun, but I don’t find it as sacred as everyone else seems to. I usually use the metaphor that sex is like milkshakes. There’s lots of different kinds, and as long as no one’s forcing it down your throat, milkshakes are great. Sometimes you have one by yourself, other times you want to share one with someone else. But milkshakes aren’t a necessary part of life; I like them, but I could also live without them. And If you don’t like milkshakes, then I won’t ask you to have any.” Ruby blinked several times, something Blake had come to recognize as a sign that her thoughts had suddenly been pulled in some new direction. “Metaphors aside, I’m really craving a strawberry milkshake right now.”

Blake chuckled. Ruby’s mind was unpredictable at nearly all times, but the tangents it took her on were often amusing to watch.

Ruby had been open with her, so Blake decided to return the favor without being asked. “I can have sex,” she said. “All the right parts are there. But I don’t get anything out of the process.” As far as Blake knew, no FAUNIS did. Humans had made a species that looked like themselves, and were able to have sex, but didn’t enjoy it. There weren’t a whole lot of reasons she could think of for them to do that, and none of them were good. “So while there’s nothing physically stopping me from being with a partner, the idea makes me uncomfortable. I’m sorry I can’t do that for you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Ruby told her, placing her hand on the center of Blake’s chest, right over her core. “You haven’t done anything wrong.” After a moment, she seemed to notice where her hand had ended up. “Is this okay?”

Blake considered their situation for a moment. “It’s frustrating,” she answered. Ruby pulled her hand back, but Blake caught it before it got far and returned it. “No,” she said, “not that. We used to be physically affectionate all the time. We didn’t need to ask, it just happened naturally. But now that we’ve put a name to what we are, we keep second-guessing ourselves. It feels like we’re trying to fit ourselves in a box that wasn’t made for us. You can touch me Ruby; your body has never made me uncomfortable.”

Ruby blushed again, even brighter than when they’d been talking about sex, but she didn’t try to pull away. “I’m scared of hurting you,” she said. “You haven’t talked about it much, but I can tell there was someone in your past who hurt you. I don’t know what they did, and I don’t know what might remind you of them, so I try to be careful and ask.”

Blake didn’t respond right away. She hadn’t talked about that man because she’d been trying to move on. She didn’t want to let him control her life anymore, so she’d done her best to forget him. If she never thought about him, then it was like he’d never existed.

Pretending that the past had never happened, it seemed, didn’t actually mean it hadn’t changed her.

“His name was Adam,” she finally said. Her eyes dropped to the couch, old memories playing in front of them. Taking comfort in Ruby’s closeness, she continued. “He was abusive, but more emotionally than physically. He was controlling and demanding, and sometimes he’d hit me if I didn’t listen to him. It took me years to get away from him.” She found herself absentmindedly caressing Ruby’s knuckles. “You’re nothing like him. I don’t have anything to fear from you.”

Ruby’s smile returned, and everything was okay again. The past faded back into the fog of time and memory, and there was only the present left in the room. Blake took a deep breath and let it all soak in, carefully committing the moment to memory and marking it as precious.

“Have any other questions?” Ruby asked. “I’m not going anywhere, if you do.”

“Now that you mention it,” Blake said, feeling a mischievous smile take over her face, “there is one thing about the human body that fascinates me.” She pressed a finger against Ruby’s side and dug in just a little bit, wiggling it around as she did. Ruby screamed with laughter and tried to get away. “Ticklishness is such a strange thing. It doesn’t really make sense for it to evolve naturally.” She continued to torment Ruby, following her as she tried to escape. Eventually Ruby managed to grab her hands and make her stop, gasping for breath as she did. Blake didn’t let this dampen her mood at all. “Now, I’m not ticklish myself, so there’s no way for you to get back at me.”

Ruby’s face sombered a bit, which hadn’t been Blake’s intention. She seemed to be considering something carefully, her eyes searching for something in Blake’s face as she thought. Once her breath evened out, she spoke. “You aren’t ticklish and you don’t like sex. Is there any way that you do enjoy your body?”

Blake’s upper ears stood up straight, not having expected the question. She turned her hands over, idly returning Ruby’s grasp as she considered her response carefully, thinking of all the things she liked in the universe.

“This might sound strange, but I like being tired. I like going all out, until I don’t have energy left to even move. I like sleeping somewhere warm and safe. I like trying new foods and eating until my batteries are full, then getting up and doing it all over again.” She pulled one of Ruby’s hands towards her to press it gently against her cheek. “I like touching you. It’s not sexual, it’s just… comfortable. Warm.”

Ruby responded by leaning forward and placing her forehead against Blake’s. “I think I know what you mean.” She pushed forward a little more, and the two fell backwards together, Ruby curled in a ball on top and still holding Blake’s hands in her own.

Blake hummed, a sound that came from the depths of her chest, content with their new situation. They lay together for a while, neither wanting to risk breaking the moment with words. Eventually, Ruby was the first to speak. In a voice so quiet it barely reached Blake’s ears, meant for her and no one else, she whispered, “We should go on a picnic tomorrow. We can race along the riverside, nap together in the sun, and stuff ourselves with food.”

“Sounds like a date,” Blake returned. She placed a small kiss atop Ruby’s head. Any world that allowed a woman like Ruby to exist couldn’t be such a bad place, Blake decided.

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 27 “Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears!”

mysterylover123

The Internship arc starts off with a bang! Let’s see that Full Cowl, Deku! 

SORA NI UTAEBA! While the song in this intro is kinda meh to me, the visuals are amazing. I love the symbolism for all the events of the ep - tho not gonna lie, this core’s ED is better than the OP. Anyway tho, go punch that wall Deku!

We start with Gran Torino pretending to be crazy. I’ll admit, I’m kinda eh on this bit, though I love  Gran. It’s probably because I found it annoying when Yoda did it, so I find it annoying here as well. (It’s really just my inner fangirl talking. Nobody makes Deku unhappy except Kacchan. Who can get away with it.)

But actually, this sets up an interesting difference between Deku and Luke, though admittedly situation isn’t the same because Deku knows Gran is Gran. But Deku’s response to this is to call All Might to tell him Gran’s gone senile. He’s so empathetic Deku why aren’t you real? (no shade at Luke there,e I love him too. Just not as much).

“I don’t have time to mess around.” Deku did not come to play.

New costume! It’s incredible how much better it is than the old one. Like, not even funny how much better. Day-um, Deku. 

Pfh Gran knows exactly how to piss off Deku: Insult All Might. You clever little scoundrel.

So onto Deku’s character flaws: 1. He’s overly analytical. Deku doesn’t know how to act quickly, partially due to circumstance, but partially that’s just how he is. Hesitant. Over-cautious, over-thinks things. He needs to learn how to take action - and in this arc, he does indeed do so without hesitation, and saves Iida’s life by so-doing. Box 1 checked off.

2. Deku admires All Might too much. Like every MC in BNHA, his Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Tragedy (insert me telling you to read that essay again). It’s a problem because he doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn not to imitate All Might and be his own hero. That one doesn’t really sink in until the PLE arc. But check.

3. Deku is insecure. He has a massive inferiority complex (which fits nicely into his foil’s inf-sup complex,  wouldn’t-cha-know) and doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn to be more confident. (Is it wrong that I want this to end with him breaking through Instrumentality to a chorus of his friends saying ‘Congratulations’?)

Gran is my favorite Teacher, as a teacher, in BNHA. I’m a teaching-major, and I kinda aspire to his techniques. What I love the most is helping students figure it out themselves. Just telling someone the answer doesn’t help them. It’s so satisfying seeing a student make that breakthrough thanks to your guidance.

Now we’re cutting away to Iida’s internship to remind you Iida Wants Revenge. This is a little exposition-y, let’s cut somewhere else.

OK good, the villains! Right off the bat, we’ve got some great Parallels with the Heroes, as Tomura decides to basically Intern with a Pro-Villain. He even calls Stain a pro. Tho Tomura really needs to work on his recruitment strategy. “Stain join us. Cause.” “Bakugou. Join us. Cause”.

I want Deku and Tomura to build a grand Hero-Villain rivalry. Tomura basically hates him for no real reason right now, and I want there to be a good reason. Other than “He’s All Might’s successor”. I want them to be the Joker and Batman of BNHA with a real complex hero-villain rivalry, where one reflects the other. They’re getting there but I want more.

“Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless.” Ooh I love me some Stain. He really elevated this series’ philosophical side with his ramblings on heroism and villainy.

OK am I creeped out by the fact that All for One just said the same thing I did about learning? A little.

Deku is so brilliant and such a fast learner tho. It doesn’t take him long to put it all together. And Gran actually really admires him for that - I enjoy their mentor dynamic a lot, since Gran has some real respect for Midoriya in a different way from All Might.

Bakugou with Best Jeanist! OMG the comedy gold of this. Though I just want to take a sec to gripe about a change from the manga to the anime: Manga! Bakugou does not charge at Best Jeanist and yell at him. He’s not dumb enough to try that on the #4 Pro Hero and his teacher. He sits still and listens to Jeanist’s lecture. The only Bakugo line here that’s from the manga is “Didn’t you make an offer for me?” This completely changes the way we perceive Bakugo in this scene, and in general. Bad change.

 But in Good Storytelling-ville, I like the continuing parallels between the Wonder duo this creates: Izuku interns in a rundown neighborhood with an unlisted hero, Bakugo in Tokyo with a top pro. Izuku needs to learn to control his power and believe in himself. Katsuki needs to learn to be kinder and more humble. Izuku learns his lesson her, Katsuki doesn’t. Parallels!

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu again! 4th kind is ok. He’s probably the least memorable of the internship pros, since his gimmick is simple and his design kinda dull.

Uraraka and Gunhead! I love how well they get along. He’s kawaii and she’s a hardcore badass. Don’t you forget it!

Now for more of Momo’s arc. The Uwabami internship is usually dismissed by fans as Just Fanservice, but think about it in context, and it becomes really interesting. One, the Hero Killer arc is about Stain protesting the commercialization of heroism, so we do need to have a Pro-Hero demonstrate the problematic nature of that commercialism. Uwabami does just that. Two, we need to have Momo’s internship be unfulfilling to her, to complete her downward trajectory (before the Final Exam arc can bring her back up), so it’s useful for further embarrassing and developing her character. 3, it sets up Momo and Kendo’s future rivalry.

I’ll take more about it in future eps where it appears.

Izuku practicing and constantly hitting his face on the wall is one of those things that makes me wonder if either a) he has a secret endurance quirk or b) OFA just naturally ups your durability. How does he still have a face after that.

Here’s a hot take: Izuku with his face smashed up from spending a night with no sleep training in garbage all night is still prettier than any other guy in this series.

One of the reviewers I follow made the comparison between All Might vs Deku’s using of OFA and Korra vs Aang’s role as the Avatar. You know, All Might and Korra, both master the power pretty quickly so they get to be strong fast but lose out on the spiritual connection a bit, while Deku and Aang take their time learning ofa/the four elements, but get as a tradeoff more of the spirit-y side...(ATLA & BNHA. My 2 favorite shows, alongside FMA. I swear these are like, three sides of the same show).

While I’m watching in the Sub this time around, i wanted to note a dub-ism in this scene: it’s localized to ‘hot pastries’ instead of taiyaki. There’s a lot of bits like that, where they take Japanese food and translate it for us dumb Americans. But well, maybe that made sense in the 90s, when there maybe wasn’t as much cultural crossover, but...even I knew what mochi were before watching BNHA (Uraraka’s fave, and the dub always localizes it to ‘sweets’) and everyone has google if they’re confused so why not just say ‘Taiyaki?’ Ah well, it’s a stupid nitpick but still.

Gran’s metaphor here is so great. As a teacher I aspire to learn from this man. Teach me your teaching ways.

“THIS TAIYAKI IS ME!!!!!” Another dub-ism has him say “I’m not really a dessert” I saw a reactor once comment on this ‘Yeah, but you are a snacc, Deku.’ I wholeheartedly agree.

FULL COWLLLLLLL!!!!!!! FYEAH!!!!!

OK so there are a lot of reasons I love Full Cowl. it’s one of the series’ finest moments, emblematic of what makes it cool. And what makes Deku cool. He’s smart, and has to work his way around problems, and this solution was just...it was there, for us and Izuku the whole time, to finally sit up and take notice of. It’s about applying power in a different way. About taking what you can do and doing the best you can with what you’ve got. A big central theme for the series.  

Also dayum that slow pan up Deku’s entire body as he activates it...he just looks good in this arc. Actually, post-cavalry battle Deku in the sports festival arc always looks weird and odd (because he’s beat up and in pain, duh) and prior to that he was mainly just adorable...this arc, however, is his official transition into Best Boy for Reals. He’s just...swoony. and also really cool, smart, and all sorts of great fangirl-y things. 

We end on a confident Deku smile and Daiki’s adorable ‘hai.’ Basically, i really enjoy this episode. A little slow at the beginning, maybe. But that conclusion is amazing and so worth the payoff. It’s even got this amazing rhyme and rhythm to it, cutting back and forth between the different students and teachers and just having themes echo between each other like poetry. It love it.

To close off: ED4, AKA BEST ED EVER!!!! This is seriously, no sarcasm, best ED. So for those of you who don’t know, the story behind ED4 Datte Atashi no Hero is, 1: The Fantasy AU theme comes from the second popularity poll, which came out around Chapter 120/Episode 61 (yes, THAT one) and for which Horikoshi drew the top 10 in fantasy garb. 2: The Song was written by LiSa and was explicitly stated by her to be effectively about Izuku’s feelings towards Kacchan. I wrote a post analyzing it. It is, basically, the anthem for...

BKDK CORNER

“Loose…” Guess who the first person Deku thinks of to create Full Cowling is? If you sad Kacchan, ding-ding-ding!

On an analytical note, I think it’s very, very significant that the first real breakthrough Deku makes in handling his power comes by observing Kacchan and imitating him. This is one of my Top 20 Favorite BKDK moments, even though it’s completely indirect, because of how important that is in the long-run. But what about the Imitation theme? Why is it OK for Izuku to imitate Katsuki, but not All Might? Well, first of all, he does use Gran Torino’s moves as well, but mainly, I think the series is saying with this distinction that it’s OK to imitate someone if you see their flaws and acknowledge them, but if you hero-worship them and see them as perfect, you’re only going to screw yourself over.  This is why Iida imitating Ingenium, Shoto imitating his mom, Deku and Kacchan imitating All Might, and yes, Uraraka imitating Deku, are all so bad for them. If you see someone as perfect, and want to imitate them, you’ll never achieve that in your mind, because you already view yourself as imperfect. So Deku can imitate Katsuki because he thinks he’s a jerk, but also an amazing fighter, and Gran because he thinks he’s weird, but tough.

Also Deku just automatically thinking of Kacchan first is so damn shippy.

BEST GIRL OF THE EPISODE: Uwabami!

RANKER: Ranking the Internship Pros, least helpful to most.

10. Uwabami

9. Mt. Lady

8. 4th Kind

7. Endeavor

6. Death Arms

5. Manual

4. Selkie and Sirius (anime only)

3. Gunhead

2. Best Jeanist

1. Gran Torino! (Deku lucked out)

[thesffcorner]

Book Couples of 2019: Ranked

I stole this idea from Sam at ThoughtsOnTomes, and I’ve done it two years in a row. So why not keep the tradition going in the next decade too and rank all the couples from books I read in 2019. 

Before we start, some ground rules: 

SPOILERS AHEAD;

All of the couples are from books I read in 2019;

All the couples must be canon; they are only on the list if they are written as explicitly romantic; 

Worst to Best, i.e. couples I liked the least to couples I liked the best. 

Let’s go!

TERRIBLE TIER: 

50. Erika and Michael from Corrupt by Penelope Douglass

Is anyone surprised that these two are the worst couple of the year? If you are, you must be new here. 

This pairing has all the tropes I hate in literature: an abusive, possessive alpha male hero who treats the girl like shit, but it’s ok because he loves her. He’s also willing to destroy her life over his friends, who as far as he knows raped her, so that’s fun too. Oh, and also it takes for her to almost die for him to tell her he loves her. We stan an emotionally stunted idiot. 

As for Erika, she’s entitled, dumb, naive and completely virginal, in spite of being in a committed long term relationship. She has no personality other than her unrequited 14 year old crush, but somehow she’s supposed to be smart and independent? Sure, Jan.  

49. Joe and Beck from You, by Caroline Kepness:

I don’t think I need to explain to anyone why I hated these two. They are both pretentious, horrible people and I’d say they deserve each other, except no one deserves Joe, not even Beck.

48. Marcus, Maria and Saya from Deadly Class by Rick Remendeer:

2019 was a bad year for love triangles, which is a trope I’m not a huge fan of anyway, but man did this year make me hate it even more. As the first example we have Marcus, Maria and Saya, who are by far 3 of the most obnoxious characters I have ever had the displeasure of reading from. 

First we have Maria, who is just ‘crazy’, because women be crazy y’all! She’s promiscuous, even though she has a boyfriend, who she then cheats on with Marcus, back-stabs her best friend over him, and then gets dropped like a potato when Marcus realizes he can sleep with Saya too. 

There are some attempts in the latter volumes to give her some depth and explain why she was dating Dio to start with, but you know, I’d rather you had opened with that. 

Marcus, outside of being the absolute worst person in existence, treats Maria poorly, talks shit about her behind her back, cheats on her, let’s her take the fall for stuff he and Saya did and in general doesn’t want to be with her, but stays because sex. 

His relationship with Saya is even worse; they like the same shitty music, and are both horny. Also Saya is a horrible tsundere cliche, which is already annoying in anime and manga, even well written ones, let alone when an American writer tries to emulate it. Badly. 

BAD TIER: 

47. Mariko, Akira and Taro from Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

The second love triangle on the list, and this one wins by being the dumbest, most underdeveloped one of the year. 

Mariko was the character I liked the most, but her connection to both Akira and Taro was tenuous at best, and more than a little frustrating. 

Akira gets put in the friend-zone, except not really because he actually is proactive and tries to show Mariko that he values her, but then the book forgets about him so we can develop Taro, who is somehow even worse. At least Akira had a connection to Mariko before he fell for her; Taro sees her and decides she’s the one because she talks back at him thinking he’s just an ordinary samurai, not the prince, a trope that needs to fuckin DIE. Not to mention his faster than Kylo Ren turn to the darkside.

46. Odessa, Evander and Mereday from Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh:

The next triangle on this list, and this one hurts more because it actually had potential. 

There is something really compelling about two women coming together to grieve the loss of a loved one, with the idea that Mereday has nursed a crush on Odessa since childhood, but because of social norms and her brother, she’s stayed away. 

What we get instead is an uneven mess, where neither character feels like they are progressing at all, and a ton of contrivances as to why they won’t talk to each other, instead of  building on the existing conflict of ‘Odessa’s boyfriend and Mereday’s brother is the same person, and he is dead’. 

45. Poe, Auden and St Sebastian from A Lesson in Thorns, by Sierra Simone:

Speaking of potential, these 3. 

This is one of those triangles where all 3 legs should be, and are written to be equal, but unfortunately, the author clearly liked the one I liked the least, the most. 

I liked Auden and St Sebastian, wanted to find out what happened to make Auden treat St Sebastian the way he did, and why St Sebastian let him do it.  I even liked the pull they felt for each other and the jealousy Poe brought up in them. 

I also really liked Poe and St. Sebastian, their angst over being separated, their bonding over feeling like outsiders in Auden’s world, and the loss of their respective mothers. 

The couple I liked least were Auden and Poe, which is the one Simone spent the most time on. I hated Auden’s entitlement, the blindness to his privilege, the unnecessary engagement to Delphine, and I likewise hated how horny Poe was 24/7 even when she’s supposed to be finding out what happened to her missing mother, which uh… is not good. 

44. Arthur and Ben from What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertali:

I wasn’t a fan of this relationship from the start, because I just couldn’t stand Arthur as a character. Even though he improved, the relationship didn’t. 

The two didn’t have any chemistry, they weren’t compatible, and Ben had rather serious issues he should have been solving, instead of jumping straight into a new relationship. Arthur also fixated on stupid shit like a box of stuff, which is appropriately immature, but didn’t make me root for them to succeed as a couple. 

Also I hated the ending. 

43. Penelope and Sam from Emergency Contact, by Mary H K Choi

In theory, these two would be in the meh tier, but what pissed me off about this relationship is how underdeveloped it was. Sam was a character who needed serious counselling and therapy, not a girlfriend, and Penelope was just an immature teenager. I didn’t root for them to get together, I rooted for them to get help.

42. Malachiasz and Nadezda from Wicked Saints, by Emily Duncan:

These two absolutely have to go to the bad tier, even though they had potential and worked with tropes I like. 

I love the idea of a villain-hero romance; it can be done right, and the push and pull between power and control, light and dark, etc can be invigorating. This, was not that. 

Firstly we don’t know that Malachiasz is a villain for most of this; at most we think he’s some kind of assassin, but considering the whole mission the characters are on is to destroy Kalyzin and kill the King, that’s not exactly damning. Second, what should be these characters’ conflict, their religious views isn’t at all explored and Nadezda falls for Malachiasz way too quickly for someone who has been indoctrinated from birth to kill people who do blood magic. 

Also there’s a set up for a love triangle in book 2, and when will my suffering end. 

 41. Celine, Bastien and Grimaldi from The Beautiful, by Renee Ahdieh: 

Speaking of love triangles, we have possibly the worst one I read this year, in that it wasn’t even properly established! 

I had the same issues with Bastien as I did with Auden; he had no personality, other than being rich and handsome. He also does the whole ‘this woman talks back to me, so she must be the one’, which is strike 1 against him. 

Celine was fine as a character, but her connection and love for Bastien felt unwarranted, considering both his behavior and everything she knows about him, not to mention it somehow felt rushed in a 500 page book. 

Grimaldi I just plain hated. Him stepping in to pretend that he was Celine’s lover when she’s lost her memories and clearly doesn’t love him, but ESPECIALLY him deciding out of the blue that he loves her after he detains and humiliates her for his own amusement made me rage quit this series. 

40. Daisy, Camila and Billy from Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid:

Yeah, I know it’s weird to put the couple(s) from a favorite book of the year in the bad tier, but I really, really didn’t like these pairings. 

Billy and Camila were infuriating. I get that people like that exist but Camila was far too forgiving considering everything Billy put her through. Billy was trash. 

I also hated the way Billy treated Daisy, and I was furious that she had to live with knowing what was happening between them for decades while he got to go home to his wife and pretend nothing happened. Yeah, this book hit a personal spot, read the review if you want more coherent thoughts. 

39. Noam and Dara from the Fever King, by Victoria Lee:

I am genuinely shocked they are this close to the meh tier, because boy was I not a fan of them. 

I wrote a really detailed review of this book, and all my issues with Noam and Dara, from their age gap, to the weird sexual politics, to substance abuse, and especially to Dara reading Noam’s mind for months without telling him anything. Their relationship made me uncomfortable, and that was without adding the third leg of this Godforsaken triangle which is Lehrer, a man who is like 100 years old. 

But hey, I still want to know what goes down in book 2, so they get to close out the bad tier. 

MEH TIER: 

38. Runa and Indigo from The Boneless Mercies, by April Genevive Tucholke:

Runa was a great character, but this romance is barely worth mentioning. It’s introduced at the very end, and it’s underdeveloped. 

37. Jack and the Village Girl from Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire:

I tried to look up the girl’s name, I really did, but I couldn’t find it and I don’t remember it. I also don’t have the book so I can’t check. 

I don’t know what I expected from a book about Jack and Jill, but Jill killing Jack’s girlfriend because she was jealous of Jack is… well not it. 

36. Lowen and Jeremy from Verity, by Colleen Hover: 

I struggled with whether to put these two in the bad or the meh tier. On the one hand, I cared not one bit about their relationship, even after we discover that it’s founded on lies and an attempted murder. On the other, there was nothing inherently wrong with their interactions and they did care for one another, even if was painfully boring. 

In the end, I decided that boredom is a meh trait so, meh tier it is.

35. Annaleigh and Cassius from House of Salt and Sorrows, by Erin A Craig:

Instalove, the couple. 

There was some potential, with the whole not knowing when it’s the real Cassius and when it’s Kosamaris or the Trickster pretending to be him, but it’s barely taken advantage of. In the end it’s just another ‘we’ve known each other for a week, but let’s die for each other’ plot. 

34. Mei and Kai from The Bride Test, by Hellen Hoang:

I really struggled where to put these two, because as individual characters, they were fine, great even. As a couple? Yikes. 

I loved Mei and wanted her to be happy, but the secret she kept from Kai was genuinely horrible, and I still can’t believe that the book resolved it by just not addressing it until the very end. 

Kai was fine, not nearly as developed or likable as Mei, but the way he treated Mei in parts of this book were horrific, even if he struggles with expressing feelings and boundaries. 

I ended up placing them in the meh tier, because at least they were never malicious to each other, which is more than can be said for the couples in the bad and terrible tier. 

33. Rachel and Delphine from A Lesson in Thorns, by Sierra Simone:

These two get to be in the meh, not the bad purely because I actually understood their dynamic. I really liked the idea of Delphine discovering her sexuality, both in women and in BDSM, and overcoming trauma by taking charge of her own body and desires. 

I also liked seeing Rachel realize that she had actual feelings for Delphine and having to deal with them. Too bad I’ll never get to find out how their relationship will pan out, cause fuck this series. 

32. Stevie and David from Truly Devious, by Maureen Johnson:

These two were perfectly fine, even interesting at points, until the ending, which made me so angry that they get to squat in the meh tier. 

Also Stevie going through David’s stuff? Not cool.

31. Yen and Vu Con from In the Vanisher’s Palace, by Aliette DeBodard:

The dynamic between these two was more than a little uneven, with the constant threat of murder and the knowledge that Yu would never be able to go home and see her mother, which is enough for me to resent any character no matter how cool of a dragon she is. 

But… that human-dragon sex scene. Wildest thing I’ve read all year. 

30. Henry and Diego from We Are the Ants, by Shaun David Hutchinson:

While I liked the book a lot, Henry and Diego were… not great. Diego was a character that at points came off more unreal than the aliens, from his wildly dramatic life story, to him not going to jail at the end, and his limitless patience when it came to Henry. Truly a manic pixie dream boy.  

29. Olive and Ethan from the Un-honeymooners, by Christina Lauren:

This couple would have been in the great tier, had it not been for the last third of the book. Ethan not believing Olive, telling her that she’s jealous and dramatic for wanting to warn her sister that his brother is a cheater, and then making up for it with a stupid, grandiose gesture instead of, actually talking to her and learning his lesson? Nah, we don’t stan that kind of manipulative behavior in this house. The only reason they are in the meh tier is because they really were cute the rest of the book. 

28. Isobel and Julio from An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors, by Curtis Craddock:

Not much to say about them, mostly because they met in the last third of the book. I would take a bullet for Isobel, and judging by the blurb for book 2, Julio might have beat me to it, so he gets to be in the meh. 

27. Emily and Haskel from Passing Strange, by Ellen Klages:

Like Mei and Kai, I liked these two as separate characters more than as a couple. It’s not that there weren't any chemistry between them, it’s that they weren’t developed enough for me to care. If this were a longer work instead of a novella, they’d probably be higher. 

26. Jonas and Florian from The Monster of Elendhaven, by Jennifer Giesbrecht:

I liked the idea of this relationship more than the execution. Jonas being horny 24/7 for Florian’s dainty wrists was understandable, but Florian being sad that Jonas isn’t his dead twin sister… less so. 

However this does get points for having the strangest sex scene in any book I’ve read this year; yeah even stranger than the one in Gideon the Ninth. 

OK TIER:

25. Ruby and Dov from The Wise and the Wicked, by Rebecca Podos:

While I didn’t love the book, Ruby and Dov were fine. I appreciated the trans rep, I liked the way their relationship developed and the oddball humor the characters shared, and I thought they were cute together. 

24. Lila and Cassel from the Curse Workers Series, by Holly Black:

Lila and Cassel grew on me substantially between White Cat and the rest of the series. I liked the angst in Red Glove because of Lila being worked and I liked the rod trip they get to go on at the end of Black Heart. 

23. Aurora and Kal from Aurora Rising, by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman:

There is nothing wrong with Aurora or Kal, even their bonding/imprinting thing reminded me too much of Twilight/Avatar. 

They do have cute scenes together, but I’m just not a fan of the alpha male, macho boy ‘protecting’ the girl and deciding for her what he will do with their relationship. There’s room for improvement, is what I’m trying to say. 

22. All the couples from the Witchlands Series, by Susan Dennard:

I was originally going to split these up in different tiers, but seeing as it’s been exactly a year since I read these books, and I don’t remember much about these couples, they all get to go in the OK tier. 

First we have Ryber and Kullen from Sightwitch. I liked Kullen’s humor, which contrasted well with Ryber’s seriousness and diligence, but there’s very little of them as an actual couple. I hope we get to see them again in Bloodwitch. 

Aeduin and Iseult were also fine. I know they feature more prominently in Bloodwitch, but what little we get from them in Truthwitch and Windwitch was some solid set up for a good Ben/Rey, Zuko/Katara type relationship. 

Safi and Merik are my favorite, but that’s only because I love Safi. Merik is the weaker part of this duo, though I do enjoy their banter, and the scene in Truthwitch where they dance and start levitating was amazing. 

21. Sam Cade and Gina from Stillhouse Lake, by Rachel Caine:

I was really surprised by how much I still like these two as a couple. The only reason they aren’t higher, is because they don’t stay a couple by the end of the book. 

I genuinely loved how tender and slow their relationship developed, and how much character development Cade got to get to it. Him bonding with Gina’s kids, was super sweet and the scene where he asks Gina if he can kiss her warmed my shriveled heart.

GOOD TIER:

20. Frey and King Roth from The Boneless Mercies, by April Genevive Tucholke:

I think the theme for the good category is my surprise at how much certain couple stuck with me. When I read the book, I wasn’t thrilled with Frey and Roth, because a different romance for Frey had been built up. 

But now, a year later, I still remember their scenes, especially the one where Roth tells Frey he is writing an epic about her, and asks her to come back to him. Good sh*t. 

19. Kate and Shepherd from This Is Our Story, by Ashley Elston:

I was surprised at how much I liked these two as a couple. They were supportive and cute, while also dealing with some serious issues and angst. The ending was a bit dramatic, but the scene where Kate likes a 4 year old picture of Shep on instagram by accident SPOKE TO MY SOUL. 

18. Grier and Shafeen from STAGS by M A Bennett:

This is another pairing that surprised me with how much I liked them. The book claimed that Henry was charming, but Shafeen was the real charmer, and I could actually believe that he is a gentleman who went to private school. 

Grier was a bit dim, and more than a little naive, but I liked how she got through the huntin’ shootin’ an’ fishin.

17. Levi and Enne from Ace of Shades, by Amanda Foody:

I loved these two and they had great chemistry and banter, but they aren’t yet an official couple so I can’t really justify putting them any higher than good. 

The scene where Enne plays for Levi’s life? Amazing. 

16. Harrow and Gideon from Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Mur:

I wanted them to be in the great tier, but they just weren’t. 

I loved Gideon; she was funny, a true himbo. But Harrow? I hated her for about the first 300 pages of the book. And when I finally stopped hating her, they had that weird bath sex scene and then Gideon DIED. 

So I can’t put them any higher knowing that I liked only 20% of their actual relationship.

15. Cat and Tyler from  Aurora Rising, by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman:

Cat and Tyler? Now that’s some good sh*t. 

I am a sucker for the captain and his/her pilot pairing, especially if one of them is a smooth talking pretty boy and the other a daredevil always ready to fight. These two were excellent, not just in their chemistry and banter, but also in the angst because what kept them apart actually made sense. 

I love that Cat broke a chair off of Tyler’s head when they met, Anne of Green Gables style, but I also love the scene where they first got together at the bar. Chef’s kiss. 

14. Sebastian and Emir  from Running with Lions, by Julian Winters:

Seb and Emir were really close to making the great tier, but there were just too many contrived reasons to keep them apart. 

I liked the slow build from enemies to friends to lovers, but I just wish we had gotten more time on the lovers section without unnecessary drama keeping them apart. 

13. Poppy and Cerenic from Sleepless, by Sarah Vaughn:

I freaking love Poppy and Cerenic, and they would have been in the great tier, had it not been for the rushed ending. 

They were still excellent together; supportive, trusting and caring, and that scene where Cerenic kisses Poppy so she can’t put him to sleep? God tier. 

GREAT TIER: 

12. Mia and Grace from On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden:

I loved how cute and realistic, Mia and Grace’s relationship was, which a wild thing to say for a series set in space. I loved their friendship, how it slowly became a romance, the heartbreaking way they split apart and then found each other again. 

The only reason they aren’t higher on the list is because they don’t end the comic as a couple, which works perfect for the story, but less so for my, uh, list of couples. 

11. Millie and Flora from Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins:

I am a sucker for the stuck up snob falls for the earthy dumbass, and Flora and Millie were exactly that. They were a really cute couple; I liked the discussion of homophobia in the royal family, letting someone else define your life and the overall way the two of them got together. I also appreciated Millie being the one to fuck up and doing everything she could to fix her mistakes. 

10. Daisy and Miles from Prince Charming by Rachel Hartman:

Daisy and Miles beat Millie and Flora just because reading their banter put tears in my eyes. I don’t think I’ve laughed out loud at any other book like I did this one. 

There were so many great moments in this book, starting from Big Bird Hat to Sebastian getting punched by Alex, but the scene I love the most was the scene between Miles and Daisy in the cabin. 

9. Severin and Laila from The Gilded Wolves, by Roshani Chokshi:

The amount of angst and sexual tension Laila and Severin have makes me wonder if this book perhaps should have been an adult. 

I like both characters on their own, though I’m always a sucker for the trope of two competent and smart people making the other an absolute fool just by being in the same room as them. 

I would have put them higher, but I just hate the way this book ended. Though since I’m mentioning scenes that were great… the dance. If you know you know. 

8. Jack Zimmerman and Bitty from Check, Please! By Ngozi Ukazu:

Jack and Bitty are too cute for words. I love the way their relationship developed, I love their dynamic, how positive their relationship is while also dealing with real world issues, like families and gossip magazines. 

Also this comic is amazing and free, go read it. 

7. Hypnos, Zofia and Enrique from The Gilded Wolves, by Roshani Chokshi:

I didn’t know that my perfect pairing is where every character is Jonathan from the Mummy, but I guess that’s my jam. 

Enrique and Zophia using their skills in math, languages and history to solve riddles together was great and hilarious, especially Enrique antagonizing Zofia just to see her reaction. 

Hypnos is my favorite character and the banter between him and Enrique was excellent; I’m always a sucker for smooth-talking rich, misunderstood anti-heroes with tragic backstories (ahem, Lando, ahem). If this is to be a love triangle with one pairing at the end, I really don’t know who I’m rooting for.

6. Zara, Beatriz and Nadim from the Honors Series, by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguire:

Finally, some good fuckin food. 

This love triangle fed me. It was the only one that was properly developed and established, I loved all 3 characters in it, and they all complimented each other amazingly. 

Zara is a great lead, I really loved her journey; I would die for Nadim, though I’d probably have to fight Zara for that because her commitment to him was so wonderful. I also really love how slowly and carefully Beatriz was introduced as a love interest, and how well balanced the three of them are. Can’t wait to see what happens in Honor Lost. 

5. Bri and Curtis from On the Come Up, by Angie Thomas:

Listen, their banter alone was enough to make me root for them. Also Curtis saved Bri from a freaking SWAT team so like… what more do I need to say. 

They were just super cute and entertaining ok? 

GOD TIER: 

4. Nax and Ryan from The Disasters, by M K Englnd:

The only couple that came close to making me laugh as much as Miles and Daisy, except I related to Nax way more as the bisexual disaster he is.

I loved the way Nax’s always on the edge of a panic attack, and yet somehow still so charming personality was complemented by Ryan’s cool calm and collected demeanor, and their banter was hilarious. 

I especially enjoyed Nax’ inner monologues, and the scene where they have to hide in a herd of goats had me in stitches. 

3. Neil and Andrew from All for the Game Trilogy, by Nora Sakavic:

People should learn how to write an angsty slowburn from this series. 

Andrew is an absolute piece of shit and Neal definitely deserved better, but I am not about to sit here and tell you that the scene where Andrew let Neal put his hand on his chest and Neal didn’t move it, didn’t send me into a weeklong crisis. 

2. Rachel and Sana from Tell Me How You Really Feel, by Aminah Mae Safi:

Sana and Rachel were like two halves of my own personality and yet somehow infinitely cooler than I’ll ever be. Their romance was an excellent homage to every great teen rom-com, and I loved every page of it. 

Sana was amazing; I loved her personality, the way she stood up for herself and dealt with problems. I also loved that for once the more feminine of the duo was the one who took charge of the relationship. 

The only gripe I have with Rachel was that she finished the film before the screening, like hello, ex-film student here: I call bs. 

1. Alex and Henry from Red White & Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston:

Was there any doubt here? Henry and Alex were hands down the best written couple of 2019. Not only were both individual characters fleshed out and so well developed, their relationship, going from enemies, to beruging friends, crushes, and finally lovers willing to upheave international politics was amazing to read about. 

Alex Claremont Diaz is my favorite character of the year and maybe even top 5 of all time, and if you haven’t read this book, read it. It will make you a happier person. 

And there you have it, 50 couples ranked. Happy reading in 2020!

[somepinkthing]

I just finished reading Tess Sharpe's book, The Evolution of Claire, and I'll admit that I'm a bit conflicted. I would give it either a 3.5 or 4/5 rating because, while I really enjoyed it, I can also see where it fell flat as far as character dialogue and action goes. However, also felt that it did a great job tying the conflicting parts of claire’s personality that we see in the movies together by setting her on the path to becoming who she is in JW. I feel that the book really builds this idealistic, young claire up to eventually become the woman we end up seeing. Though, I will admit that some of the hints of claire starting to slip into her new persona are easy to miss. So, as a tribute to claire, I’m gonna do a pros and cons list

CONS:

The dialogue and character interactions seemed a bit forced to me. It wasn't like it was completely unbelievable but that somehow made it seem weirder? If that makes sense. It was like the activities and themes of the interactions were familiar enough to me but then the characters spoke to each other and it often just seemed a bit... off. A lot of the references and quips felt forced and some of the lines simply didn’t feel like something a 19 yo would say or hear their peers say

The book did lack actual action. Which may be because the book is a prequel to a movie. Obviously it couldn't detail a big event where many people died because then how would you explain the park opening at all? But it was almost as if the author wanted every single thing claire did to have meaning and to say something about her person. Like, I can see that Claire caring enough about the dinosaurs to spend a whole day planning and then another painting a gyrosphere showcases that claire has a heart and believes in justice. I just didn't need that spelled out for me time and time again and I didn't need like 3 whole chapters of her doing just that. It just got a bit redundant to hear about how meaningful claire's actions were again and again.

Claire’s characterization. Claire does seem a far cry from the person we see at the beginning of JW right up to the end of the book. And its not like the characterization is completely off but something is absolutely missing. Most notably, somewhere between the end of the book and the beginning of the movie, claire completely lost her investment in the dinosaurs and her sense of wonder. And it’s actually her attitude towards dinosaurs that is the hardest to reconcile. Unfortunately, during the course of a lifetime, losing your sense of wonder is a common enough occurrence, as is regaining it. But it’s hard to imagine this young claire growing into someone who calls the dinosaurs ‘assets’. My real criticism for it is that the book should have added an epilogue or given us more glimpses of older claire and her thoughts on what happened between then and now. That may have made the change in attitude seem smoother. Because, while I can see this claire becoming the one we’re introduced to, it did take a lot of thinking. So I do think some dialogue from an older claire may have made that easier for readers to follow

I’ll be honest, if I accept the book events as canon, a lot of how claire reacts to the indominous doesn’t add up. I would expect her to be more upset about it. I would especially expect her to have more of a reaction to masrani’s cover up, either trying to justify it or being against it. THOUGH I suppose that depends on what we’re assuming happened in the interim and what lessons claire had to learn. Plus, doing a prequel after the sequel has already been made does make it hard to make everything line up

That scene at the end, where claire pets the dinosaur. I feel that she should have turned away given the state of mind the author was trying to convey and the direction she was trying to take claire’s character. That would have been more in line with the tone of the last few chapters and with the person claire would eventually become by JW. However, I can also appreciate trying to end the story on a hopeful note and it’s not a game changer

PROS:

First off, feminism. Acknowledgment of privilege from a main character. Casual LGBTQ relationships. Girls supporting girls. Guys supporting girls. This book’s got it all.

The book really does well in helping bridge the gap between the claire we see at the end of JW and what she becomes by Fallen Kingdom. It brings more depth to her development in the time skip. How, with the events of this book, claire went around full circle. Returning to her old calling and the drive that was always there after the disaster on Isla Nublar but this time with more fortitude and experience

It also did a pretty nice job of giving some backstory behind why claire does some of the things she does. For example, why she stayed on the island, why park security is so important to her. It also gives some of her reactions in the movies some depth--her aversion to the dinosaurs at first, her distress at the sight of the dead dinosaurs, her desperation to stay in control once the indominous escaped. The book ties itself in pretty well in that respect

I loved the characters, despite their unnatural interactions with claire. It's refreshing to see a book about characters with ambition. Characters who aren't the wandering hero, who want more, who seek out more. And claire and her friends were definitely that. Plus, the book also gave movie characters like masrani and wu some more background

Claire’s internal dialogue was amazing. Every part of it

I really like how they let claire be idealistic and young. That actually makes it more believable to me that claire would have such a distant and pragmatic reaction to dinosaurs and other people later in life. No one starts out as jaded as claire was in the first movie without some kind of reason. A careful but idealistic teen suffering a major betrayal from two close friends which caused her boyfriend to die in her arms, horribly mauled at the jaws of a creature that once gave her hope and inspiration would do it.

Most of the characterization seems to be pretty spot on for a younger claire tbh. Her interactions with people, her likability despite her unconventional personality, her ambition, her need for control and organization, her aggressiveness, her forward thinking attitude, her righteousness; those were all intact.   

Although I criticized it earlier, I believe the book does a good job of setting 19 yo claire up to become who she is in the first movie, just that it takes too many mental acrobatics to get it. But once I saw it, all the pieces did fall into place

You have to consider time as a factor. Assuming claire stayed with masrani all the way to the beginning of JW, then she has spent over a decade cultivating the park from its beginning by the time the movie rolls around. That is a lot of time for a young woman to go through some major changes. And claire, after justin’s death, is definitely on the brink. 

Environment also has a part to play. The deeper she gets into this park and the more her role at the park plays into her need to feel in control, the harder it’ll get for her to take that step back and realize what this is becoming. 

At her most vulnerable, claire was surrounded by people like Henry Wu and Simon Masrani--her heroes. While they meant well, they filled her with their skewed, biased ideas of the truth and of what was right for her. They sold her their explanation for what happened with both iz and justin which claire started to normalize it in an attempt to feel sane. Then they gave her a concrete goal that they thought would be best for her and she clung onto it. She grabs onto this goal set out before her and focuses on that instead of actually dealing with her trauma and fear. Instead of learning to accept the situation and move on, claire’s decided that the situation was her fault and that she should have been able to control it. Going forward, she intend to make sure this never happens again, to be in total control next time. Pile that mentality onto trauma, respect for rules and regulations, trust issues that have been worsened by betrayal, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility and you have a slippery slope---one that I can absolutely see taking claire to where she ends up in the beginning of JW.  

At the beginning, claire is someone who has the whole world set out in front of her. And some of that hope and idealism is based in innocence and the illusion that she’s safe. By the end of the book, that’s taken from her in the worst way. Now, every dinosaur related disaster will hit too close to home for her. Every injury will make her think “that could’ve been another justin”. Sure, she still loves dinosaurs to some extent, but what happens the first time one of them hurts one of her staff on her watch? And once people start entering the park? How far is claire from realizing she can't keep everyone safe without hurting some dinosaurs? In the last chapter, claire admits she’s now looking over her shoulder, waiting. She’s already started seeing dinosaurs as dangerous creatures--that isn’t that far of a jump from ‘Asset That Needs to be Controlled’ given her self-imposed mission and mental state

The book leaves claire on a precipice. She’s one sticky, dino-related mishap from realizing that there is no absolute control or safety where dinosaurs are involved. And that’ll snap something in her. She’s running scared and is trying to pretend she's not. She will do anything she has to do to feel safe and in control again. Slippery slope.

[rinisbowen]

So in your side blog I saw you mentioned that Lily and Ricky will become a couple in season 3 and their relationship won’t last for very long I totally agree with you. I don’t ship Lily and Ricky but I do think Ricky dating Lily in Season 3 would be a great lesson for Ricky to learn that he shouldn’t trust everyone that is nice to him because they can still stab him in the back while pretending to be nice to him. I think their relationship is going to be Ejini 2.0 in Season 3. Part 1/2

I think at some point in Season 3 Ricky will find out somehow that Lily stole his harness which is just going to crushed him just like how Nini was mad when E.J. told her that he poisoned a girl so she can get the lead role at summer camp. I think Lily and Ricky relationship will only last a month before Ricky finds out that Lily betrayed him. I am a Rini shipper and I honestly don’t care if they never get back together again I kind of want Ricky to come out as Bi for some reason. Part 2/2

hey anon! thank you so so much for the asks! i think this is all a really interesting concept. i’m putting this baby under the cut bc the answer got long, but i LOVE writing stuff out, so here goes. 

i do think that this whole little relationship they’re gonna have will be shattered by either the harness, or some other similar indiscretion committed by lily that ricky finds out about. i’ve previously said they’ll get three episodes, and while this is definitely a rough estimate based on nothing more than instinct, i’ve got a solid feeling it’s about accurate. regardless of our feelings on the subject, lily and ricky is probably happening for that short period. the phone call sorta indicates as much in my mind. he’s at least going to give it a chance. i’m not sure i’d consider myself a shipper as of now either with the facts we have, but it’s happening so, i’m just gonna come for the ride. 

i am very much of the mind that he needs to catch her red handed because someone else just telling him he can’t trust her isn’t going to get him there. he already has trust issues, and this is definitely going to make them worse. but i will say i think the “learning not to blindly trust people” thing isn’t (in my mind) necessarily the number one lesson for him to take away from being with lily and then ending things with her due to whatever bad faith act. i agree that ricky is giving lily the benefit of the doubt when he really shouldn’t, but i don’t think the goal of his arc in season 3a would be (or more accurately i don’t think it should be) to make him shut down more. 

ricky bowen is someone who has always a hard time letting people in. nini is his number one confidant and that has been echoed throughout the series, starting from season 1, episode 1. i think him learning to trust more people rather than less would be a better development if he’s supposed to be a main character. but that’s if they’re looking to develop him in a positive way, which is never a guarantee. they very well might sway him back to square one in 3a, to let him find his theatre family and trust them again in 3b. it’s all possible. i never like to rule things out completely. tbh if they do the latter, that could be an interesting arc... i’m contemplating writing meta on this now oops. 

ricky is clinging onto love since he sees it as a way to be happy. well maybe even the way to be happy. except one problem- no other person is going to be able to fulfill him the exact same way nini does/has, (because at the end of the day even beyond being his first love, she’s his childhood best friend. she’s “the only girl who knows what i’m about”) so any attempts to fill her space with just any other relationship isn’t going to genuinely work the same way. now that’s not me saying she’s the only person he can ever have a good relationship with, that’s simply not true, i’m just saying he’s as of now probably going to expect lily (or whatever person he’s with) to fulfill him the same way nini does, and that’s simply not going to work. that’s something he needs to work on. i think lily’s going to be “not nini” in ways that are both good and bad for him... that’s going to teach ricky something whether he likes it or not.

his dependency on “love” in the like- simple romantic attraction sense, is in my mind, something he’s going to need to deal with in the aftermath of his short-lived thing with lily. i truly don’t think ricky needs to be single for a long time simply because he needs to work through his parents’ divorce. i just don’t think that’s necessary even though that’s the narrative the fandom likes to take. after the thing with lily is over, he’s going to need to take time to figure out himself, because it’s the dependency that’s the problem, not the relationships themselves. he needs to allow himself the space to care about his own feelings and not suppress them to focus on another person. 

i’ve seen people call ricky selfish a lot, but i would make the argument that he’s really not been selfish in terms of his relationship. codependent- oh gosh yes absolutely. but not selfish. he throws himself wholeheartedly into these romances, and he needs to learn how to make room for himself within them. and yes- before he can do that he’s actually going to need to be a little more selfish outside of the relationship. he needs to find out what HE likes. what HE cares about. because nini was a huge part of his identity for such a long time, and starting theatre for her, while he likes it, is another thing he took on that’s “hers” in a way. ngl- i think that’s one of the things lily can teach him, is to put himself first and to pursue his own passions wholeheartedly. i think that breakup is going to help him get to a place where he can be happy alone. once he gets there i think there’s nothing wrong with getting him into a relationship at the end of the season. i think it will be at the end of the season, but i see it as very plausible and while i’m almost positive we’re going to see people calling it rushed, i think it won’t be considering the short run of the show. my best guess is the last episode. the finales tend to establish couples, so i think that’s our best bet. 

as for ejini, i agree that it’s going to crush ricky in a very similar way to how nini was crushed when she found out ej poisoned emily to get her the lead. except i think it goes to a different level for him than the way it was for nini who was in part hurt because she thought ej actually believed in her and this felt like a blow to her confidence and abilities. while i have a feeling lily is going to lift ricky up in that sense as well, she’s already validated his abilities like in the facetime call, i also think they’re going to play into the family life stuff, and i personally think that is what they’re going to play on. so especially if it’s a new issue and not the harness, that’s going to hurt bad. he has a lot of trouble letting people in, and so if he’s told her things about the divorce and such… he’s going to be incredibly torn up about that. i have a feeling he’s going to want to talk to nini, in the aftermath, and not feel able to. i won’t be entirely surprised if she goes to him... and they talk about the ejini thing...

beyond the different emphasis on his family life though, comparing them to ej and nini is kind of perfect. they’re going to do the whole summer romance thing that ej and nini had. do i think that’s probably going to strike a nerve? absolutely, but that’s not the main point of this post lol. i wouldn’t be shocked if we saw the very same like- first kiss in the tent type thing that we got from ej and nini in season 1 but from ricky and lily. (also not the point but i could also see ej and nini having a little chat in a tent seeing how far they’ve come). i think they’d be silly to shy away from the parallel. it’s not going to be exactly the same, but imo there’s a lot to mirror both for comparison and to show contrast. 

i’m also a rini shipper ngl, and tbh i’m here to just watch whatever story they give us at this point since season 2 threw them on a track that i didn’t necessarily agree with considering their season 1 arcs, but that’s what aus are for i guess lol. on a less serious note i think bi!ricky is very much a thing, regardless of what we’re shown this season. ricky can also be bi without dating a guy, we just need to show him having that attraction, and this is camp so we can have new players involved that could help him realize… so you could get both in fact. i’m trying not to get my hopes up too much. if he’s canonically bi though i def want him to come out to carlos individually though like- particularly after the in a heartbeat convo in big red’s basement. 

also i do have a feeling, regardless of either character’s relationship status at the end of season 3 (and the show in general), things are going to be left open for ricky and nini for the future. they broke up while still very much in love, and i think those two aren’t completely closed off, regardless of the path that they take to one day come back to one another. they’re probably always going to carry a torch, hold a candle, whatever the saying is, for one other. so like i think that if you like them together, whether or not they’re the endgame for the series, you can think to yourself that they’ll probably find their way back to one another. their respective character arcs fit in a way that i think that would make sense for them to be able to work again one day.

[nikatyler]

OC Interview with Tyler

I wasn’t tagged but I considered myself tagged...more than once. It’s such a good tag, okay? And I need to develop my characters.

RULES: 1. Pick a character you’ve created. 2. Fill in the questions/statements as if you were that character. 3. Tag at least four people to do this meme (consider yourself tagged just like i did if you feel like doing this :P)

I know, I know. So predictable. Plot twist, I’m actually doing this tag with high school Tyler. For reasons. Sadly that means the whole mommy thing doesn’t exist at this point in his life and therefore he can’t reference it. *insert the saddest emoji of them all*

1. What is your name?

Tyler Rose. Don’t laugh. It’s a tragedy.

2. Do you know why you were named that?

My parents say it was a coincidence but I don’t think so. I’M NAMED AFTER SOME BLOND GIRL WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE DOCTOR. I mean, I’d fall in love too, not gonna lie. He’s pretty cool. And damn, that hair.

3. Single or taken?

Does flirting exclusively with two of my friends count as being taken? It’s nothing serious, just shameless fun from both sides.

4. Have any abilities or powers?  

Shh, I do, but I pretend they don’t exist. Don’t tell anyone I said that. I’m no Harry Potter.

5. Stop being a Mary Sue!

Nah.

6. What’s your eye color?

Light green. Yeah. I’d describe it as light green. Kind of like dead grass, but not dead enough...eh, light green. Let’s stick to that.

7. How about hair color?

Brown with a weird natural blond ombre that always appears, even if I cut my hair. Thanks, great-grandma Amelia. By the way, I don’t cut my hair ever.

8. Have you any family members?

My mum, my dad, my “I’m a perfect son” brother, my “I’ll win the Nobel Prize someday” sister and my “don’t call me a little sister” little sister. Until recently, I had the best grandpa in the world, but he passed away a few months ago.

9. Oh, how about pets?

I have a few fish and I’d really like to get an actual wolf someday. Wolves are cool. And I need to live up to my name.

10. That’s cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don’t like.

My siblings, but touch them and I’ll touch you and it’s going to hurt...a lot. Eh, my siblings don’t really count then, do they? In that case, how about we ban everyone who tells me what to do?

11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?

Music! I play the guitar a lot and sometimes I sing.

12. Have you ever hurt anyone in any way before?

Yes. People don’t understand dumb jokes. Ugh.

13.Ever … killed anyone before?

I feel like killing anyone who doesn’t get the damn joke, but luckily, I control myself every time. All they get is a judging glare.

14. What kind of animal are you?

Dude, if my name doesn’t scream Wolf Bad to you, then I don’t know what’s wrong with you...or maybe I do. You’re not familiar with Doctor Who, are you? Such a mistake, my friend.

15. Name your worst weaknesses.

Aren’t worse weaknesses something you should keep to yourself? I’m confused. Next question.

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?

Should I? I mean, yes, I should. I should look up to my siblings who do their best at school. I should get inspired by their hard work...but I’m not going to do that.

17. Are you straight, gay or bisexual?

Does it matter if I end up with a girl or a guy? Not to me. Both are cool.

18. Do you go to school?

Sadly, yes.

19. Ever want to marry and have kids one day?

Marry? Someday. Kids? I’m a kid myself, duh.

20. Do you have fangirls/fanboys?

I don’t think so, but just you wait. They’ll come.

21. What are you most afraid of?

Becoming a boring adult who gave up all his dreams.

22. What do you usually wear?

Black T-shirt, flannel shirt - dON’T JUDGE THEY’RE AWESOME - and jeans.

23. What’s one food that tempts you?

Any kind of ice cream. Just keep it out of my way and we’ll live in peace.

24. Am I annoying you?

You have to step up your game if you want to get the “annoying” label. I speak from experience.

25. Well, its not over!

Well, you still have plenty of time to get annoying! Want lessons?

26. What class are you (low class, middle class, high class)?

I mean, we live in the rich part of Twinbrook, but the monthly allowance my parents give me screams low class all the time.

27. How many friends do you have?

A few good friends definitely. Four, I’d say, plus my siblings, plus...no, that new girl with gorgeous blue hair is just annoyed by my presence. Annoyed in a bad way.

28. What are your thoughts on pie?

I can’t eat it. I mean, I can, but then I have to visit the bathroom immediately, as it’s all over my face.

29. Favorite drink?

I’m 17, do you think I’m allowed to drink my favourite drink? No, I’m not. But my mum probably knows that my friends and I drink a lot of beer when we hang out, so...

30. What’s your favorite place?

That one old empty house where my friends and I hang out and drink beer and do stuff.

31. Are you interested in anyone?~

Maybe ;)

32. That was a stupid question…

I agree. But since I like you and your mediocre attempts at being annoying, I’ll tell you. That new girl messed with my head real bad.

33. Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean?

I’ve grown up by the damn Twinbrook dam...ocean would be a nice change.

34. What’s your type?

My one and only requirement is: Have gorgeous hair.

Gorgeous blue hair maybe?

35. Any fetishes?

Does gorgeous hair count?

Does gorgeous blue hair count?

Shut up Ronnie.

36.Seme or Uke?

W-what is that? Sounds scary.

Seriously tho, I don’t know what it means, I’m too lazy to google what it means and I’m not sure if I want to know what it means.

37.Camping or indoors?

Camping is fun. The best part? Playing guitar by the fire. The songs that are played aren’t usually my favourite ones, but it’s all different when you’re camping.